Economist: Ukraine and Christian disunity
IN SOME ways, this should be a promising time in the relationship between the two largest groups of Christians in the world, Catholics and Orthodox. Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch who enjoys a "primacy of honour" among the bishops of the Orthodox world, will have a symbolically resonant meeting with Pope Francis in Jerusalem on May 25th. The Moscow Patriarchate, meanwhile, has repeatedly suggested that Orthodox and Catholics should make common cause as social conservatives and upholders of Europe's Christian heritage. But inevitably, the crisis in Ukraine is casting a long shadow.