Russian Orthodox Church says Pope Francis ‘chosen the wrong tone’ on ‘Putin’s altar boy’ comment

The Russian Orthodox Church replied to Vatican This week after Pope Francis He told an Italian newspaper that Patriarch Kirill should not “transform himself into Putin Altar Boy “Amidst Invasion” Ukraine.

Pope Francis chose the wrong tone. The Russian Orthodox Church said In a statement on Wednesday. “It is unlikely that such statements will contribute to a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, which is especially needed at the present time.”

Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, left, and Pope Francis speak during a meeting at Jose Marti Airport in Havana, Cuba, in February 2016.
(Adalberto Roque/Pool photo via AP)

In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the pope noted that half of a 40-minute conversation he had with Patriarch Kirill in March included the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church reading “all the justifications for war.”

Pope Francis suggests that “NATO guarding at Russia’s door” may have forced Putin to invade Ukraine

Kirill, a longtime staunch supporter of Putin, repeated the Russian president’s justifications for war in his speeches and blamed NATO.

On Wednesday, the Russian Orthodox Church said: “Patriarch Kirill noted that at the end of the Soviet era, Russia received assurance that NATO would not move an inch to the east. However, this promise was broken, even the former Soviet Baltic republics joined NATO.” Russia could not and cannot allow this to happen.”

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivers a Christmas mass at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Despite their differences, Pope Francis also Partially blamed it on NATOIn a statement to the Italian newspaper this week, “NATO barking at Russia’s gates” may have forced Putin’s invasion.

“An anger I don’t know if you can say was provoked, but perhaps it was facilitated,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis arrives for a ceremony at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces in Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, December 2, 2021.
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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Pope Francis met Kirill in person in Cuba six years ago, the first time a pope has met a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism nearly a thousand years ago.