The
Russian Orthodox Church created a commission to study Fiducia Suplicans,
the declaration published by the Doctrine of the Faith allowing priests
to impart non-liturgical blessings to couples in irregular situations.
The study concluded:
The Commission members were unanimous that this innovation manifests a sharp deviation from the Christian moral teaching.
This statement shows a difference in opinion between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, which already saw growing tensions with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis has made several attempts to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.
For example, he expressed this desire to the Patriarchate's foreign minister in 2020.
-Safe travels and greetings to Patriarch Kirill.
Thank you, Your Holiness.
-And I hope to meet him soon.
Thank you, Your Holiness.
The Pope received the Foreign Minister at the Vatican again in 2021. Pope Francis used this occasion to make another request for a meeting with the Russian Patriarch.
The first meeting he had with Kirill was in 2016 at the Havana airport in Cuba.