From Philip Pulella, Reuters:
Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 25, an encounter that could help mend strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russian-Vatican relations have been fraught since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with Moscow accusing the Roman Catholic Church of trying to poach believers from the Russian Orthodox Church, a charge the Vatican denies. But Putin is the first Kremlin leader since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to publicly profess religious faith – to the Orthodox church – and has several times advocated ending the long feud between the two major Christian churches.
Putin and the pope will hold their first meeting on November 25, a Vatican spokesman said on Thursday. Putin, who also met his two immediate predecessors, could invite the pope to visit Russia, diplomats said.
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Pope Francis meeting with Putin could help mend Catholic-Orthodox relations | FaithWorld