- The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Pope Francis said he wants to meet with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as part of his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics also warned Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill not to be an “altar boy” for Mr. Putin.

The pontiff’s remarks came in an interview with Corriere Della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper.

“About 20 days into the war, I asked [Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro] Parolin to convey my message to Putin, that I was ready to travel to Moscow,” the 85-year-old leader told the newspaper. “For sure, I was waiting for some kind of opening gesture from the Kremlin leader. We received no answer whatsoever, but we keep pressing them on this issue.”

He added, “I fear, however, that Putin cannot, or does not want to agree to our meeting at the moment. But how can you not try and do whatever you can to stop the atrocities? Twenty-five years ago we saw something similar happening in Rwanda.”

Francis said he would be willing to visit Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, but it was “not yet” time for a visit before he visits Moscow.

The pope said he spent 40 minutes in a Zoom call with Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill at the war’s start. The Russian Orthodox leader, who has long been close to Mr. Putin, has been a strong supporter of the Russian war effort.

“For the first twenty minutes, he read from a piece of paper he was holding in his hand all the reasons that justify the Russian invasion,” Francis recalled. “I listened to him and then replied: ’I don’t understand any of this. Brother, we are not state clerics, we shouldn’t speak the language of politics, but rather the language of Jesus.’”

Speaking to the newspaper, Francis admonished Kirill: “A Patriarch can’t lower himself to become Putin’s altar boy.”

He said the two agreed to call off a planned June 14 meeting in Jerusalem: “We agreed that it could send the wrong message,” the pope said.

• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.

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