When Pope Francis announced the trip to Kazakhstan for which he had embarked on Tuesday, his intention seemed clear — vocal in his criticism of the Ukrainian War, but barred from visiting Kiev due to his knee pain, he at least would spread his message of peace near those borders.
But a central speaker to your plan will not be on site to hear you. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Cyril I, last month canceled his presence in the country. The cleric, a friend of Vladimir Putin, is in favor of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation”, and sees in its fight against the West a battle between good and evil in which Russia, the rightful owner of the territory, belongs. Ukrainian, protect its people from those who try to pervert it.
The leaders of two of Christianity’s main branches first met six years ago, in the first such meeting since the schism of 1054, and have not seen each other since. There was an expectation of a new assembly of the duo in Jerusalem in June, but Francis said Vatican diplomats advised against the idea in an interview with the Argentine daily La Nación at the time.
Cyril’s absence weighs heavily on the pope’s visit now, the second by a pontiff to the Central Asian nation — the first, made by John Paul II, took place days after the 9/11 attack.
Francis spends three days in Nur-Sultan, the futuristic Kazakh capital, to attend the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. In addition to speaking and meeting with other religious leaders, he also celebrates a mass on Wednesday for the country’s Catholics, who represent less than 1% of the population – 70% of Kazakhs 19 million are Sunni Muslims, and 26% are Orthodox Christians. .
The pope’s first address to the government of the country, on Tuesday night (13), was about the War in Ukraine. In his speech, he called the conflict “tragic and meaningless” and stressed the need for nations to tone down Cold War rhetoric. Despite being an ally of Putin, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, present at the meeting, does not support the invasion, and has already hinted that he hopes the massive Russian community in the north of his territory does not reignite Russian imperialist ambitions.
A second mismatch has also been pointed out by the press as a wasted opportunity. By coincidence, Pope Francis will be in Kazakhstan at the same time as Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on his first trip abroad since China’s borders were closed due to Covid. Xi’s second stop is Uzbekistan, where he is due to meet with Putin.
Asked about his intention to meet Xi by journalists accompanying him on the flight to Nur-Sultan, the pontiff said he would be willing to go to China at any time, but that he had nothing new on the matter to offer.
He has been trying to improve relations with Beijing, which have been strained since the Communist Revolution in 1949, which forced Catholics to follow the Patriotic Association, with its “Chinese Catholic Church”, while the portion traditionally loyal to the Vatican was forced to meet informally. or clandestine.
The trip comes at a delicate time for Francis, whose health problems have prompted speculation about a possible resignation — an option he admits is on the horizon.
At the age of 85, the pontiff suffers from osteoarthritis that affects a ligament in his right knee. The pain at the site made him cancel several appointments in recent months, in addition to frequently adopting a wheelchair.
On the flight just now, he leaned on a cane to greet journalists, and appeared to be in pain as he returned to his seat. This was also the first time Francis used a wheelchair to get off the plane and into the terminal.
with Reuters
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