Moscow, Jun. 5, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Walter Kasper has said that a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II could be arranged soon. But spokesmen for the Moscow patriarchate have replied that the cardinal's remarks may be a diplomatic gambit.
Speaking to L'Osservatore Romano after his return from Moscow, where he met with Patriarch Alexei, Cardinal Kasper reported that there were subtle signs that a "summit meeting" between the Pope and the Patriarch could take place. The president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity said that no plans for a meeting were under discussion, but hinted that an agreement to arrange a summit could come soon.
Vatican hopes for a meeting between the Pope and the Russian patriarch were frustrated twice during the pontificate of John Paul II, when Orthodox officials pulled out of proposed meetings after planning was already underway. Speculation about a new effort to arrange a meeting between the leaders of the world's largest Christian churches has persisted since the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
But the Moscow patriarchate has discouraged the latest speculation. A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church told the Interfax news service that Cardinal Kasper's comments "may be a diplomatic move by the Vatican" to put added pressure on Moscow. An Orthodox deacon, Andrei Kyrayev, made a similar point, telling Interfax: "Such commentaries by one of the parties are sometimes a diplomatic move intended to put certain soft pressure on the negotiating parties."