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How the Vatican is encouraging dialogue between Russia and the West

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Dettagli: Creato: 05 Settembre 2017; Hits: 1863

It is no secret: The relationship between the Russian Federation and the Holy See has been improving. This development comes when Russia’s ties to the European Union and the United States—and the Holy See’s own relationship with the United States due to positions taken by the Trump administration on issues like climate change and

immigration—are strained. Western powers have imposed sanctions attempting to isolate Moscow and trying to get the government to change its course in Ukraine and elsewhere.

The Holy See is aware of the concerns of the international community; however, especially during what Pope Francis has called “this piecemeal third world war that we are living through,” it believes dialogue should be promoted over confrontation .

President Vladimir Putin has visited the Vatican five times and has already had two private conversations with Pope Francis, in 2013 and 2015. He is expected to meet him again next January, when he comes for the opening of a Russian art exhibition in the Vatican. Moreover, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met his Vatican counterparts on several occasions and engaged in what sources say were “substantial, constructive discussions.”