INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
promoted dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as constructive engagement between Russia and the Holy
last spoke with him by phone in December 2021, just weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian
state media.Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said Pope Francis oversaw an "important stage" in relations between
the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches."An important stage in the relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches is
associated with his name," said Kirill, who met the pope in 2016 for the first-ever meeting between heads of the two churches.Pope Francis
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Cuba, marking the first-ever meeting between the heads of the two churches
The historic encounter concluded with a joint 10-page declaration, hailed at the time as a milestone in relations between the Catholic and
Russian Orthodox branches of Christianity.AFP contributed reporting.
