Vatican's ecumenism chief meets Russian Orthodox head
(March 18, 2011) On his first official trip to Russia, the Vatican’s top ecumenical
official held talks with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow on Wednesday
on "major areas of cooperation" between the two Churches. Cardinal Kurt Koch, president
of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and Patriarch Kirill
of Moscow and All Russia reviewed issues under discussion by the Joint International
Commission for Theological Dialogue. The Moscow Patriarchate issued a note saying
that despite theological difference, both the Churches can now cooperate in areas
of agreement, such as the defence of traditional Christian values in Europe, advocacy
of the Christian position in the socio-economic sphere and in the ethics of scientific
research and bioethics. The patriarch and the cardinal noted an escalation of anti-Christian
sentiments in the world, including in Christian countries of Europe. Patriarch Kirill
expressed his esteem for Pope Benedict who, he said, defends the Christian tradition
in spite of sometime sharp criticism from liberal circles.