WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Friday, the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Churches announced in a joint statement that their leaders will meet on February 12 in Havana, Cuba. This will be the first time a pope and a patriarch meet since Christianity split into the Western and Eastern branches in 1054.
"This meeting is welcomed as a significant development in an important relationship, a development that affirms Pope Francis’ confidence in the power of dialogue and encounter," Clemmer said on Friday.
Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of Massachusetts wrote in a blog post for USCCB that Cuba is aa appropriate place for the "literally unprecedented" meeting.
"It's fitting that this meeting takes place in Cuba, a country that, thanks to Pope Francis' efforts to build bridges of engagements, has seen a thaw after half a century of tensions with the United States."
The meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill will focus on the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, according to the joint statement. The two leaders are also expected to sign a joint declaration.
