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Associated Press, Moscow, Russia, December 26, 2003
MOSCOW (AP)--The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said that Pope
John Paul II's visit to Ukraine two years ago worsened relations between the
two churches, a further indication of the steep hurdles that must be
overcome before a papal visit to Russia.
"The possibility in principle of a papal visit to Russia as a meeting
between the heads of the two churches has never been denied by our side,"
Patriarch Alexy II said in an interview published Friday in the daily
Gazeta.
But he said that after the pope visited Ukraine in 2001, the relationship
between the two churches "even worsened." Greek Catholics in western
Ukraine, who retain Eastern-rite rituals but recognize the pope's supremacy,
"increased their expansion into traditionally Orthodox eastern and southern
Ukraine ," Alexy II said.
"We would not like a papal visit to Russia, if it were judged feasible, to
proceed according to the 'Ukrainian scenario,"' Alexy II was quoted as
saying.
The globe-trotting pope has long expressed a desire to visit Russia, but the
Russian Orthodox Church has said it won't agree to a papal visit until the
Catholics stop alleged missionary activities and withdraw claims to disputed
church property in western Ukraine.
Disagreements between the Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant Christian
faith in Russia, and the Vatican have deep historical roots. But tensions
have increased markedly after the 1991 Soviet collapse, with the Russian
Orthodox Church accusing the Vatican of trying to win new converts in Russia
and other ex-Soviet republics.
The Vatican rejects accusations of proselytizing. Catholics have sought to
recover churches that belonged to them before the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution
and attract new followers, but their flock in Russia remains tiny -about
600,000 of the nation's 144 million people.
"To our deep regret, there are still not enough grounds to speak about
changes in the Vatican's position and any positive improvements in
Orthodox-Catholic dialogue," Alexy II was quoted as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the pontiff in the Vatican last
month. Putin says he wants to help end the dispute between the churches, but
adds that Russia will defend its faith and identity.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Russian Orthodox church, obviously from their
statements,
do not believe at all in the standard democratic principles of freedom of
religion, separation of church and state, and other such basic human rights
concepts. They indicate they believe in state endorsed churches and a
special, state blessed, monopoly position for their church. They indicate
the territory from the Black Sea to the Baltic's to the Pacific Ocean is
their exclusive territory. They do not seem to understand the historically
proven basic truth that such power by any one church corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. The word democracy does not seem to be in their
vocabulary.
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