AP

Pope may meet Patriarch Kirill at September Kazakh meeting

May 30, 2022, 10:10 PM | Updated: May 31, 2022, 10:33 am

FILE — Pope Francis, left, reaches to embrace Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill after signing a j...

FILE — Pope Francis, left, reaches to embrace Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill after signing a joint declaration at the Jose Marti International airport in Havana, Cuba o Feb. 12, 2016. The Vatican said Tuesday, May 31, 2022 that Pope Francis will travel to Kazakhstan in September for an interfaith conference, a meeting that may give him a chance to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill would be significant given his justification for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Francis called off a planned encounter with Kirill in June in Jerusalem because of the diplomatic fallout it might create. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis will travel to Kazakhstan in September for an interfaith conference, a meeting that may give him a chance to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The meeting with Patriarch Kirill would be significant given Kirill’s justification for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Francis called off a planned encounter with Kirill in June in Jerusalem because of the diplomatic fallout it would have created.

The Kazakh government is hosting a “Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions” on Sept. 14-15 in the capital, Nur-Sultan. Kirill has been invited and the Moscow Patriarchate has said he would attend.

The Vatican confirmed that Francis had also decided to attend in a joint statement issued Tuesday marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Kazakhstan.

“The continuation of peaceful coexistence in the face of contemporary challenges is achievable only through an inclusive and comprehensive dialogue,” the statement said. “Therefore, Kazakhstan welcomes the decision of Pope Francis to attend” the September congress.

Francis has criticized the devastation of the war but has been keen to avoid antagonizing Kirill and derailing decades of ecumenical outreach to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Francis and Kirill met in Havana in 2016 in the first such encounter between a pope and Russian patriarch in a millennium.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

23 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

23 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

23 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Pope may meet Patriarch Kirill at September Kazakh meeting