Posted on 04/14/2022 7:00:48 PM PDT by marshmallow
VATICAN CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - The Vatican is studying the possibility of extending Pope Francis' trip to Lebanon in June so he can fly to Jerusalem to meet there Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has backed Russia's war in Ukraine, two sources told Reuters on Monday.
It would be only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054.
Kirill, 75, has given his full-throated blessing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a position that has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that theologians and academics say is unprecedented. read more
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plan was for the 85-year-old pope, who is due in Lebanon on June 12-13, to fly to Amman, Jordan on the morning of June 14.
From there, he would board a helicopter to Jerusalem on the same day for the meeting with Kirill and then return to Rome from there, the sources said.
One source said the trip appeared to be almost certain, while the other said it was one possibility.
Returning from his trip to Malta last week, Francis said he hoped to meet Kirill somewhere in the Middle East this year but did not say where.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The article presumes that it’s up to the Vatican to decide whether such a meeting takes place.
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