News

CWNews.com - The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief ecumenical officer has told the Reuters news agency that the principal obstacle to a meeting between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill is the dispute over parishes in the Ukraine.

Following World War II, the Stalin regime violently suppressed the Eastern-rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, confiscated its parishes, and turned them over to the Russian Orthodox Church. Approximately 500 of these parishes reverted to Ukrainian Catholic use following the collapse of Communism.

While Pope Benedict has shown “more sensitivity to the Orthodox tradition than his predecessor,” Archbishop Hilarion said that “not very much was done or is being done in order to solve this problem” in the Ukraine.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Exclusive: Orthodox leader urges Vatican to resolve dispute (Reuters)