“These attempts have led not only to the loss of the concept of justice in international relations, but also to brutal confrontation, military conflicts, the spread of terrorism and extremism in different parts of the world,” Kirill said in his message.
Suggesting he felt Russia was the victim of a smear campaign, he denounced the spread of misinformation and the “distortion of historical facts” and “manipulation of mass consciousness” to spread messages of “hatred towards entire peoples, cultures and religions.”
In addition to the Russian Orthodox delegation, the religious leaders included Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning in Cairo, who warmly greeted Francis with a kiss on the cheek when the pope arrived in a wheelchair.
Al-Tayeb used his speech to the conference to complain that traditional religions had been replaced by a culture of lust and gay marriage. “This is not acceptable, not even for animals and beasts, let alone for people with pure hearts and sound minds,” he said.
The Right Rev. Jo Bailey Wells, the Anglican bishop of Dorking and one of only a half dozen women heading delegations, lamented that women represent half the world’s population but are hardly represented in religious leadership.
“My expectation is it will be a challenge to those present to empower women in the family context and in public society,” she told reporters.
Before Kirill bowed out, there had been speculation that Francis could meet with Kirill on the sidelines of the congress. The two met for the first time in 2016 in Cuba — the first-ever meeting of a pope and Russian patriarch — and spoke by videoconference in the early weeks of the war.
Francis afterward publicly criticized Kirill’s justification of Russia’s invasion and warned that he mustn’t become “Putin’s altar boy.”
Speaking to reporters after he met with Francis, Anthony said Francis’ “altar boy” comment didn’t go over well in Moscow. “It wasn’t expected and clearly it’s not useful for the unity of Christians,” he said. “It was a surprise. But we know we have to move on.”
He said a Kirill-Francis meeting is still possible, but insisted it had to be well-prepared ahead of time and must produce a concrete joint statement, as was issued after the Havana meeting.
In addition to the meeting with Anthony, Francis also was meeting with al-Tayeb, the head of Russia’s religious council of Muslims and other Orthodox, Jewish, Lutheran and Muslim leaders.
Another visitor in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was apparently not on Francis’ agenda. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Nur-Sultan on his first state visit outside China since early in the coronavirus pandemic. Vatican and Kazakh officials said they didn’t expect Xi would meet with the pope during his brief visit to a key economic and political ally in the region.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
This article originally appeared here.
