Any updates on pope francis moscow trip

Joe Biden opened his 2024 State off the Union address with Ukraine, not the United States of America. This says it all. They want to keep this war going, it's all about money and corruption with no regard to loss of life. I agree, Pope Francis is right.

 

This statement by Pope Francis might increase his chances of getting to Moscow. It seems to all be part of a new narrative, following the 'retirement' of the hawkish Nuland, despite the increasingly bellicose statements of some European states (consider the absurdity of signalling aggression now, when they hadn't the courage to do so when the Ukraine were on the front foot). I'm not so sure the Biden administration wants to keep this war going. They are losing and if they persist they will either keep losing or trigger Armageddon. I think there is an increasing awareness of this and they might be hoping that they can sell a negotiated settlement as a benefit, with the assistance of lots of media lies and spin. I think the proposed US bridgehead in Gaza could be far more ominous.

 

I’ve been wondering about this Brian. Maybe it’s because there is no one ethnic group to blame in the US but all ethnic groups. Since we comprise every nation and not our own DNA identity. When a certain nation in the world is condemned we are condemned with them. It’s something to ponder.

 

I've wondered about the same thing.

 

For those who can understand the meaning of this detail:

Pope Reinstates the Title of Patriarch of the West
Surprise: the Pope dusts off the title of Patriarch of the West. In the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook on the page containing the titles attributed to him next to that of Bishop of Rome, the historic definition that had been removed by Benedict XVI in 2006 indeed reappears. Ratzinger at the time decided to abolish it because he considered it obsolete, explaining that the title of 'Patriarch of the West' had been adopted in the year 642 by Pope Theodore I. It definitively appeared in the Pontifical Yearbook in 1863. Although it certainly did not intend to describe an ecclesiastical territory or any claims, the issue nevertheless sparked debates at the ecumenical level. The title, if anything, strengthened the special relationship of the Bishop of Rome to the jurisdiction of the Latin Church. Pope Francis's decision to restore the title of Patriarch of the West is explained by Fides and can be 'linked to his insistence on the importance of synodality, and to the ecumenical solicitude that always looks to the early centuries of Christianity, when there were no dogmatic rifts among the Churches'. The title also recalls the experience of the First Christian Millennium, when the five seats of ancient Christianity (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), despite the difference in their respective histories and different spiritual accents, held a particular significance for the bond that united them to the Apostolic Tradition. The relationships of these five seats, in communion, appeared structured in the practice that Church history studies define as 'Pentarchy'. The five seats were also recognized by the imperial powers as having a shared responsibility 'in terms of the orthodoxy of the faith and the governance of the universal Church'. In a historical moment marked by the spread of conflicts that push 'peoples towards the abyss of a third world war', the ecumenical solicitude sees as a propitious opportunity the approach of the 17th centenary of the Council of Nicea, which took place in 325 AD. Precisely in 2025, the Jubilee year, all Christians, among other things, will celebrate Easter on the same day, Sunday, April 20. In 325 at Nicea, the first ecumenical event in the history of Christianity was held, from which a shared profession of faith emerged that for 1700 years represents for Christians an element in which to identify and find unity. The council was convened by Emperor Constantine to resolve a theological issue: the so-called Arian controversy that questioned the full divinity of the Son compared to the Father to the point of considering him the first of creatures, and thus discussed the very idea of God and salvation. The event gathered a large number of bishops, about 300, almost all from the eastern part of the empire, although there were also some representatives from the west and even from some regions not subjected to Rome.

Source: https://www.ilmessaggero.it/en/pope...patriarch_of_the_west-8050237.html?refresh_ce

Now remember the words of Pope Francis to general Kirill in 2018:

Pope Francis defends Russian Orthodox

Moscow (AsiaNews) – The audience on Wednesday in Rome, in which Pope Francis met with the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate, has generated positive impressions in Russia. In the conflict with the faction in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv) that seeks autonomy from the Patriarchate, the pontiff has openly supported the pro-Moscow faction.

Receiving the group of Russians led by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), at the end of a brotherly visit to the Italian Church, the Pope said: "In your presence, especially in front of you, dear brother, I would like once more to emphasise that the Catholic Church will never allow acts on its part to provoke divisions. We will not allow this; I do not want this. In Russia there is only one Patriarchate, yours, and we will not recognise any other.”

Francis’ remarks resonate solemn and meaningful, also because the question of "Ukrainian autocephaly" is causing a very serious crisis within the Orthodox world. The Ukrainian bishops most favorable to separation, such as the autonomous Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), but also many prelates of the jurisdiction linked to Moscow, are waiting for the Tomos of autocephaly that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople should pronounce this month in conjunction with the celebrations for the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus' (988).

The position taken by Pope Francis seems to go against this possibility, counterbalancing the intentions attributed to Bartholomew, the universal "primate" of the Orthodox. What is more, in the audience with the Russians, the pope also reiterated in no uncertain terms that Uniatism cannot be considered an acceptable method to achieve ecclesiastical unity in view of today’s relations between Orthodox and Catholics. Instead, the pontiff noted that only brotherly dialogue is the path to greater unity.

The pontiff's words also include a warning for Ukrainian Greek Catholics. "Catholic Churches should not meddle in the internal affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, especially for political reasons. This is my position, and the current position of the Holy See. Those who act differently do not submit to the Holy See," the pontiff said in what sounds almost like an excommunication for those who disobey.

Just before he left for Rome, Metropolitan Hilarion, the right-hand man of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow, spoke out against Ukrainian “Uniates”, who, in his view, are responsible for Kyiv’s attempt to achieve autocephaly, a goal supported by Ukrainian politicians and by President Poroshenko. According to Hilarion, " the rhetoric associated with the project for the so-called one local Church in Ukraine is often associated with a group, that of the Greek-Catholic Ukrainians, led by Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. The latter continues to make statements in support of the project a single local Church, saying that the unity of this Church should be based on the successor of the Apostle Peter, that is the pope of Rome," the Metropolitan told the NTV TV channel. Pope Francis’ words thus seem to be a direct response in support of Hilarion’s statement.

The Metropolitan also denied that the Patriarch of Moscow could join Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew in the celebrations for Saint Nicholas in Bari, set for early July. In light of the "Ukrainian question", it is understandable that the Russian patriarch wants to avoid contact with his "big brother" Bartholomew, which the Russian press continues to describe, especially now, as the head of a marginal Greek Orthodox community in Turkey rather than the head of all Orthodox.

The controversy against the "Turkish Patriarch", as Bartholomew is often referred to in Russian media, is nothing new in the relations between Russian and Greek Orthodox. Two years ago, this was underscored by the Russian refusal to participate in the first historic pan-Orthodox council in Crete, thus causing it to fail.

At the same time, Metropolitan Hilarion has let it be known that a new meeting between Francis and Kirill is on the contrary desirable and the Russians’ recent visit in Rome are making it ever closer and more probable. For now, there are no indications as to when or under what circumstances the meeting might take place. What is clear however is that it will happen on neutral ground, thus neither in Moscow nor in Rome.

Soure: https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pope-Francis-defends-Russian-Orthodox-44059.html