Pope Francis meeting with Putin could help mend Catholic-Orthodox relations | FaithWorld

From Philip Pulella, Reuters:

Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 25, an encounter that could help mend strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russian-Vatican relations have been fraught since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with Moscow accusing the Roman Catholic Church of trying to poach believers from the Russian Orthodox Church, a charge the Vatican denies. But Putin is the first Kremlin leader since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to publicly profess religious faith – to the Orthodox church – and has several times advocated ending the long feud between the two major Christian churches.

Putin and the pope will hold their first meeting on November 25, a Vatican spokesman said on Thursday. Putin, who also met his two immediate predecessors, could invite the pope to visit Russia, diplomats said.

Read more:
Pope Francis meeting with Putin could help mend Catholic-Orthodox relations | FaithWorld