– Neutral ground –
Their meeting was driven by rising violence in recent years in the Middle East, where Christian communities have suffered at the hands of extremists.
“We call upon the international community to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East,” the religious leaders said.
Between them, they are the spiritual leaders of more than 1.3 billion Christians. The main barrier to a rapprochement over the years has been the Orthodox Church’s refusal to accept the primacy of the Roman pontiff.
“I felt like I was in front of a brother,” Francis told reporters on the flight to Mexico. “We talked about a program of possible activities in common.”
The meeting on neutral ground – hosted by the communist, atheist Cuban leadership of Raul Castro – was decades in the planning, with the final obstacles swept away by the pope’s determination and global politics.
But Francis has also framed the encounter in a broader context of engaging Russia, saying Moscow could be an important partner for peace in the world.
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