Putin pays tribute to Pope Francis for his defence of ‘humanism and justice’

Religious and political leaders in Russia have begun paying tributes to Pope Francis, whose death was announced by the Vatican on Monday morning. 

“Pope Francis enjoyed great international prestige as a faithful servant of Christian teaching, a wise religious leader and statesman, and a consistent defender of the highest values of humanism and justice,” Vladimir Putin said in a statement. 

“During all the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as constructive interaction between Russia and the Holy See,” Putin continued, adding that having met him many times, he would “forever retain the brightest memory of him”.

In a more muted statement, the Moscow Patriarchate said that the “personality of Pope Francis played a significant role in the active development of contacts between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.”

While Pope Francis’s papacy will be remembered as unprecedented for several reasons, not least as he was the first pope to be appointed while his predecessor was still alive, the first Jesuit to ever lead the Vatican, and the first pope to have been born in the western hemisphere, in Russia he will also be remembered for his attempts to normalise relations with the Russian Orthodox Church after almost a millennium. 

In 2016, following two years of secret negotiations, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, held a historic two-hour meeting in Havana, the most significant interaction between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054. 

The meeting, which was friendly but made no attempt to address the doctrinal differences between the two denominations, nevertheless caused dismay in Ukraine, largely due to the Russian Orthodox Church’s closeness to the Kremlin, which just two years beforehand had illegally annexed Crimea and began waging a proxy war against Kyiv in Donbas. 

Nevertheless, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a warm tribute to Francis on Monday, saying that his life has been “devoted to God, to people, and to the Church”. 

“He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity. He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support,” Zelensky added.