Zee Beam News

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov) - Upon ascension to the Holy See in the spring of this year, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed universal unification of Christians as a central idea of his pontificate. The Vatican has already started implementing it: this week the Pope sent Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, who is in charge of the Holy See's relations with other states, to Moscow. Lajolo, who had been invited by Sergei Lavrov, will meet with Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate's foreign church relations department, as well as a group of parliamentarians. During the talks he intends to discuss raising the status of both countries' diplomatic missions to that of embassies. For both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, this is a highly symbolic visit, full of hopes for a long-awaited improvement in bilateral relations. In response to the attack launched against the Iron Curtain by Pope John Paul II, the USSR's totalitarian rulers intensified the persecution of local Catholics. The parishes of the Roman-Catholic Church, which was treated as a dangerous sect, were forced to go underground. It was not until April 1991, the peak of perestroika, when the country started adopting democratic norms, that Catholics in Russia became free from persecution. Two years earlier, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Pope granted an audience to a communist party leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, for the first time in Vatican's history. The historic visit marked the beginning of the renaissance of the Roman-Catholic Church in Russia. At that time, Moscow established official diplomatic relations with the Vatican, although their level was not very high. Currently, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia unites 300 communities with over half a million believers, including the country's top-ranking Catholic, - the Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref. The bishops admit that their relations with the Russian authorities have markedly improved. However, the state was unable to eradicate the traditional hostility, with which the Russian Orthodox Church treated local Catholics until recently. The Russian Orthodox Church accuses Catholics of proselytism, that is, luring parishioners from the Orthodox Church on its own traditional, canonical territory. The Vatican denies these claims, saying that the Russian Orthodox Church has "a different and slightly extended" concept of proselytism. The hierarchs of the Moscow Patriarchate, however, are suspicious of such explanations. They recall that when it comes to the interests of the Vatican, it has the same attitude. For example, the Holy See is indignant about "aggressive proselytism" in Brazil, where Catholic parishes sustain serious damage from the activity of Protestant sects, notably, the Pentacostalists. The tension around Greek Catholics in Ukraine - they are called Uniats - that have persisted for decades are another apple of discord. Uniat churches are subordinate to the Vatican but hold Orthodox services. They dream of establishing their own patriarchate in Kiev and have been seeking Rome's blessing. Naturally, all this impeded the dialogue between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church. This impediment was especially serious during the rule of the conservative Pope John Paul II, who was inflexible in formulating the Catholic Church's answers to many challenges of the modern age. The leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church expected Benedict XVI to follow in his predecessor's footsteps, since he is famous for his fundamental adherence to Christianity. Fortunately, this is not the case. Relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church are improving and their ecumenical rapprochement may become a reality. This conclusion can be drawn, in particular, from the recent statements of Cardinal Walter Kasper. "As to the Russian Orthodox Church, the ice is melting," this high-ranking official of the Vatican, who is in charge of inter-confessional dialogue, said at a news conference in Rome. "The ecumenical Ice Age does not exist." Kasper says the Pope is unlikely to make a visit to Russia in the near future, but makes it clear that the Holy See "is making efforts to overcome the obstacles" preventing this historic event. And the current visit to Moscow of Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo proves that. These changes are in tune with the thought once voiced by Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia: the accession of Pope Benedict XVI signifies the beginning of a new age that will hopefully help restore relations with the Russian Orthodoxy. In the face of new dangers - terrorism, AIDS, environmental pollution - the world's two largest churches are beginning to realize that they should not refrain from cooperation or abandon the idea of the reunification of Christianity.