Pope Francis Sends Protocol Greeting to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill Amid Criticism of Vatican Policy

Pope Francis has sent a brief protocol greeting to Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, marking the feast day of St. Cyril, a saint important to both Catholics and Orthodox Christians, especially in Slavic nations. The website of the Moscow Patriarchate published the greeting. In it, Francis said he prayed that the Holy Spirit would renew and strengthen the church in its gospel ministry, “especially in our efforts to protect the value and dignity of every human life.”

The note, which the source describes as three sentences, made no mention of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and did not include a general appeal for peace. The source notes that it was a protocol greeting for a religious observance, and that Francis has frequently denounced the war and the loss of life in his public remarks.

The moderate tone reflected the Vatican’s effort to keep relations open with Kirill, a policy that has drawn growing criticism. Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, head of the Polish bishops’ conference, returned from a visit to Ukraine that week and called on the Vatican to change what he described as its “naïve and utopian” policy, saying it would not work in the long run. In an interview with the Polish Catholic news agency KAI, Gadecki called seeking dialogue with Moscow a “noble” goal, but said it was “not accompanied by sufficiently serious thought on the Vatican’s part.”

The source reports that Kirill has justified the invasion on spiritual and ideological grounds, describing it as a “metaphysical” battle with the West. He has blessed soldiers going into battle and has invoked the idea that Russians and Ukrainians are one people.

Gadecki acknowledged that the tradition of Vatican diplomacy is not to call out aggressors, and to seek, at considerable cost, to keep an open channel of dialogue in hopes of encouraging a peaceful resolution. In the case of Ukraine, the Vatican has also been careful not to antagonize the Russian Orthodox Church, which it had worked for decades to improve relations with, a process that culminated in a historic meeting between Francis and Kirill in Havana in 2016. Gadecki said that “in the situation of war … it is most important that the Holy See supported Ukraine on all levels and was not directed by utopian thoughts.”

Francis raised the war at the end of his weekly general audience that Wednesday. Speaking to Polish pilgrims, he called for prayers for peace in Ukraine, asked God “to teach us to show solidarity for those who are affected by the tragedy of war,” and called for reconciliation among nations (Romans 12:18).

Source: Read the original report