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Israel’s two chief rabbis, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Rabbi David Lau, Egypt’s Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayyeb and Pope Francis were just some of the top clergy who gathered last month at the VII Congress of Leaders of World And Traditional Religions in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital city, to discuss ways in which the world’s religious leaders could work together to overcome extremism, conflict and disunity around the world. “It was an extremely well-organized event and obviously the centerpiece was the participation of the pope,” Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who was...

Moscow, October 3, Interfax - The relations of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church are really frozen now, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said. "Lately, unfortunately, I have to say that our relations are practically frozen," he said on air of the Church and the World program on Russia-24 TV. According to the metropolitan, some comments of Pope Francis and his assistants "do not contribute at all" to the preparation of the Pontiff's meeting with Patriarch Kirill and further cooperation between the two Churches. To illustrate...

Deputy Chairman Vakhtang Kipshidze posted on his Telegram channel his comments on the World Council of Churches Assembly. After the unsuccessful attempt of some of the members of the WCC to remove the Russian Orthodox Church, this recent assembly saw another push against the Russian Orthodox Church in the form of a document on the situation in Ukraine that was put up for approval by the assembly. In the translated post below, Vakhtang references this article published by the WCC and breaks down why this document is still polarizing to the Russian Orthodox Church, and how representatives from Donbass were...

Bishop Schneider had described the ecumenical Congress as a ‘supermarket of religions’ which could undermine the primacy of the Catholic faith.NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has appeared to reject criticism by Bishop Athanasius Schneider about the ecumenical Congress the pontiff recently attended in Kazakhstan, saying the meeting was a way to “honor” the Catholic faith. The Pope made his comments while on the return flight from Kazakhstan to Rome, having been in the country for three days to attend the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. At the start of his final day in the country,...

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (CNS) — As war, violence and extremism in countries around the world threaten the lives of countless men, women and children, religions must rise above differences and be examples of peace and harmony, Pope Francis said. “It is time to realize that fundamentalism defiles and corrupts every creed; time for open and compassionate hearts,” the pope said Sept. 14 at the plenary session of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. “We need religion in order to respond to the thirst for world peace and the thirst for the infinite that dwells in the heart of...

ROME – One of the Russian Orthodox Church’s top-ranking clerics has said Pope Francis’s remark earlier this year that their patriarch shouldn’t be a government “altar boy” hurt efforts toward building Christian unity. Speaking to journalists just after concluding a private conversation with Pope Francis on the margins of a high-profile interfaith summit in Kazakhstan, Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony Sevryuk of Volokolamsk described the conversation as “very cordial.” The two discussed the presence of the Russian Orthodox community in Kazakhstan, as well as the need to arrange a second meeting between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, after the...

The inter-religious document was updated after the religious leaders had given their assent to it, and after it had been publicly pronounced during a live-stream.NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (LifeSiteNews) – In a peculiar turn of events, the ecumenical Declaration read out and signed by Pope Francis at the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions held in Kazakhstan, has since been changed. The original version appeared to go against Catholic teaching, and it is not known if Pope Francis agreed to the updated version. The original version of the Declaration was read aloud by Anglican prelate Dr. Jo Bailey Wells...

ROME — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has canceled his planned attendance at an interfaith meeting in Kazakhstan next month where he was expected to meet with Pope Francis, a top Orthodox official said, in a sign of further deterioration in relations over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of foreign relations for the Moscow Patriarchate, was quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency as saying that Patriarch Kirill would not be attending the Sept. 13-15 meeting and that therefore any meeting with Francis was off. Kirill has justified the invasion of Ukraine on spiritual...

Canterbury, England, Aug 5, 2022 / 09:26 am In ecumenical discussions at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, has said that most Anglicans recognize the pope as “the father of the Church in the West.” Welby said that he is “not proud” of the level of progress made in promoting Christian unity in recent years. He attributed this stasis in part to what he termed “habits of separation” that have been fostered over the last 500 years. Nonetheless, he believes that the majority of the Church of England’s members acknowledge the pope to be “the...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said he plans to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in September at an interreligious meeting in Kazakhstan. The pope confirmed the meeting in an interview that aired in the United States July 11 on Univision, the Spanish-language network. “We are going to meet in Kazakhstan in September because there is a religious meeting” there that both have promised to attend, he said. Although the Vatican has not officially announced the visit, Kazakh authorities said the pope confirmed his participation at the Congress of World and Traditional Religions during a Zoom meeting in April with...

ROME — The theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches has reached a point where it seems appropriate to consider expanding the opportunities for the faithful of any of the churches to receive the sacraments from one another when they are not available in their own community, Pope Francis said. “Based on the theological consensus noted by your commission, would it not be possible to extend and multiply such pastoral arrangements, especially in contexts where our faithful are in minority and diaspora situations?” the pope asked members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between...

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2022 / 08:38 am Pope Francis spoke about the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha during a meeting with a Buddhist delegation from Thailand on Friday. “Sadly, on all sides, we hear the cry of a wounded humanity and a broken earth. The Buddha and Jesus understood the need to overcome the egoism that gives rise to conflict and violence,” the pope said at the Vatican on June 17. He added: “The Dhammapada sums up the Buddha’s teachings thus: 'To avoid evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind — this is the teaching of...

The Holy See has confirmed the Pope's attendance at the Congress of Leader of World and Traditional Religions in September where he will be joined by representatives of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Orthodox Christians and Protestants for discussions centered on 'inter-religious dialogue.'VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) – The Holy See has confirmed that Pope Francis will attend the seventh World Religions Congress in Kazakhstan this September. The pontiff is throwing his support behind the international “interfaith” meeting aimed at the “development of humanity” following the worldwide COVID-19 response. According to a joint communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office on May...

Three Italian prelates joined in supporting the pro-LGBT ecumenical ‘prayer vigil’ movement, with Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo speaking of God's ‘fatherly womb.’(LifeSiteNews) – As part of events to mark the “International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia” (IDAHOT), three Italian prelates have joined with dissident “Catholic” LGBT organizations to create “sanctuaries of welcome and support for LGBT people.” The events comprise a number of ecumenical prayer services held in churches, Catholic and evangelical, all across Europe, starting May 15 and continuing through June 6, with a large number of such vigils taking place on May 17 – the “International Day...

Vatican City, May 13, 2022 / 12:20 pm Pope Francis said on Friday that members of the Anglican Communion are “valued traveling companions” as Catholics take part in a worldwide synodal process. Speaking to the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Dialogue Commission (ARCIC) on May 13, the pope said he hoped that Anglicans would contribute to the two-year initiative leading to the Synod on Synodality in Rome in 2023. He said: “As you know, the Catholic Church has inaugurated a synodal process: for this common journey to be truly such, the contribution of the Anglican Communion cannot be lacking. We look upon...

Catholics mocked on Twitter after Muslims pray 'showing bum to cross'MUMBAI, India (ChurchMilitant.com) - Faithful Catholics are slamming the archbishop of Bombay after churches hosted Ramadan meals and prayers and rang church bells to usher in the breaking of the Islamic fast. Hindus ridiculed Catholics on social media as Muslims prayed with their backsides offensively thrust up towards the crucifix and the Blessed Sacrament in a church led by the Jesuits of the Bombay province. One-Way Street"Will the Muslim community reciprocate the gesture and allow Catholics to offer Holy Mass in their mosques?" Blaise Gomes, with the Association of Concerned...

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - There are no provisions in the Koran and in the Sunnah that prohibit Muslims from sharing the evening meal of "breaking the fast" (Al-Fitr) with Christian friends, relatives or acquaintances during the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan. This is what is reported by Sheikh Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, current Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and finds space in the Egyptian media just as all the Islamic communities in the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al Fitr, the feast that concludes the holy month dedicated to fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Accepting food from...

Moscow, April 22, Interfax - The meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis, which presumably could have been held this coming summer, has been postponed due to problems caused by the international events of the past few months, head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion said. "The events of the past two months necessitated adjustments to the plans and postponement of the meeting," Metropolitan Hilarion told reporters on Friday. "Too many problems would now arise during its preparations" in terms of security, logistics, coverage of the meeting in the public space,...

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,...

Moscow, April 11, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church cannot yet report the exact time and venue of a meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis, but says it may take place in the Middle East. "From the very beginning, the Pope and the Patriarch wanted to meet where there are problems, where the Christian population needs support, so, of course, the Middle East is seen as one of the priority areas for such a meeting," head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion said during the Church and World program on...