World News
Theologian says Catholic-Orthodox relations improving in Russia
Published: February 1, 2007
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Catholic representative to Catholic-Orthodox talks in Russia said the atmosphere between the two churches is improving. The improved atmosphere allows members "to face the problems and seek solutions," said Jean-Francois Thiry, a Catholic representative at the Jan. 26 talks in Moscow. "We agreed we should go to see the situation of churches in other cities and regions, while encouraging people at the local level to follow our example." The Belgian theologian was part of the working group for problems between the Moscow Patriarchate and Catholic Church, set up in February 2004 by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. A Jan. 26 joint statement said the working group, which convened in the Moscow Patriarchate's Pilgrim Center, had discussed Catholic-Orthodox mixed marriages, the education of children at Catholic-run orphanages and the role of Catholic "vicarial and social structures" in Russia.
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