Posted on 03/12/2015 1:28:56 PM PDT by marshmallow
The conversation with Tass is dedicated to the themes of Lent, but also to the war in Ukraine, schismatic Orthodox Churches and relations with the Catholic Church.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, has released his first interview with a secular magazine, choosing the official news agency Tass. Published on 10 March and dedicated to the period of Lent, the lengthy interview touches on various topical issues: the Mohammed cartoon, the war in Ukraine, relations between the Church and society, and also relations with the Catholic Church. The interview failed to provoke specific comments or clamor in the media, but is part of the broader effort to reaffirm the Church's presence in the secular life of the nation. In late January, for the first time, Kirill had intervened with a speech before the Duma, the lower house of parliament. Experts had then pointed out that in a time of economic and international crisis like the present, all institutions, especially religious ones, need to be mobilized.
Lent
In the interview, the primate focuses on the value of repentance, explaining that a person who loses the ability to repent is "like a pianist who loses his musical ear". "In principle, you can try to execute the piece following the notes, but your execution will be terrible." "In Christianity it is the sacrament of reconciliation that helps a person to develop a sense of repentance, that is, to control their spiritual state," said Kirill. The Patriarch believes that the future of civilization depends on its religious life: the danger of transforming freedom it to something that is arbitrary appears when "there are no criteria of truth." "Not every human truth is God's truth and cannot be absolute," he said warning that "denying the absolute righteousness of God, we destroy.....
(Excerpt) Read more at asianews.it ...
For later. It will be interesting to read what the Kremlin told him to say.
“I do not think I should comment on the style of conduct of the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church. And I am confident he would not make comments as regards me either. I have sincere respect for Pope Francis and for the fact he keeps up close bonds to the monastic tradition that molded him”.
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