ITALY/VATICAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Benedict discuss the often strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Benedict, in their first encounter, on Tuesday (March 13) discussed the often strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church in a private meeting. The two men met for 25 minutes in the Pontiff's study in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, speaking in German for most of the session, but occasionally assisted by translators. A Vatican statement said the meeting was cordial, positive, and that they discussed relations between the two divided Churches. Putin, who met the Pope at the start of a 24-hour visit to Italy, knows that the 79-year-old Pope would like to visit Russia. But such a visit would need the blessing of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II. Significantly, Putin passed on greetings from Alexiy, Russian news agencies quoted presidential spokesman Alexei Gromov as saying. Pope John Paul, who died in 2005, had standing invitations from former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, but was unable to make the trip because of difficult relations with the Orthodox Church. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church has accused Catholics of using new freedoms to poach some of its faithful. The Vatican denies the charge. Relations between the late Pope John Paul, a Pole, and the Russian Orthodox Church were also tense because he was a strident anti-communist and the Russian Church had been for the most part compliant with successive Soviet regimes. The Vatican statement said the Pope and Putin also discussed the Middle East and "extremism and intolerance". Before heading to the Vatican, Putin began his 24-hour visit to Italy by meeting President Giorgio Napolitano, who, like the Russian leader, is a former communist. He later dined with Prime Minister Romano Prodi. On Wednesday, the two leaders will hold a bilateral summit in the southern town of Bari, where they will sign accords ranging from energy and banking to adoption of Russian children.

ITN Source | March 14, 2007

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