Pope

On Tuesday, on the first day of his apostolic journey to Kazakhstan, Pope Francis urged dialogue and multilateralism in the face of Russia’s „senseless and tragic war” in Ukraine.  „I have come here as a pilgrim of peace, seeking dialogue and unity. Our world urgently needs peace: it needs to recover harmony”, Pope Francis said from the stage of the Qazaq Concert Hall in capital Nur-Sultan. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who supports the war in Ukraine, was expected to attend the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held in Kazakhstan, and Pope Francis had stated, several times, that he was willing to talk to him. The two met in 2016 in Cuba, the first meeting between a pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch. At the meeting in Nur-Sultan, 100 delegates from 50 countries are present.