Moscow Patriarchate: Obstacles to meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI are still there

Moscow/Paris- The Moscow Patriarchate believes the obstacles hindering a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI have not been removed yet.

“The possibility of such a meeting [between the Pope and the patriarch] was never ruled out under Patriarch Alexy II but there are still obstacles to it, specifically, cases of proselytism. We believe that there is a need to work out a common position and, after that has been done, organize such a meeting,” Bishop of Vienna and Austria Hilarion , who represents the Russian Orthodox Church in European international organizations, said on a televised linkup between Moscow and Paris on Friday.

Bishop Hilarion said that Patriarch Kirill will continue the policy of his predecessor on Orthodox-Catholic relations and “will do everything to remove all obstacles hindering this meeting.”

Bishop Hilarion said that, although Patriarch Kirill wants such a meeting to take place as soon as possible, he believes “there is no need for it to take place in front of television cameras.”

“We cannot specify its dates because we are not talking about dates, but about the purposes of this meeting. If it is well-prepared, it will mean a real breakthrough in our bilateral relations,” said Bishop Hilarion.

Bishop Hilarion also recalled that one of the problems hindering productive dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches is “the difficult situation” with the opening of new Greco-Catholic parishes and dioceses in Western and Eastern Ukraine.