Putin to meet Pope Francis in Rome: Ukraine and beyond

... settlement of disputes and to prevent the spread of religious violence and intolerance; the importance of this message in Pope Francis’ views could not be exaggerated. A positive atmosphere in relations between the Holy See and the Kremlin could favor Vatican’s steps towards the Russian Orthodox Church. It is obvious that both Russia and the Vatican have compelling reasons to manage a dialogue and understand each other. All this is not enough to state that a new Vatican Ostpolitik is in the making but the Pope could indeed ...