Pope, Russian president discuss Catholic-Orthodox relations

Published: 2007-03-14

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 25 minutes speaking privately March 13, discussing Catholic-Orthodox relations and ways to strengthen the relationship between the Vatican and the Russian government. Although two translators were present for the private meeting in Pope Benedict's library, they told reporters that the pope and Putin spoke to each other in German and required the translators' assistance only to clarify the meaning of one word. A Vatican statement said the pope's meeting with Putin and the meeting held simultaneously by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, "took place in a very positive atmosphere." The two meetings paid particular attention to relations between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, the statement said.

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