Aggression of Greek-Catholics should become the main topic in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue - Metropolitan Hilarion

Moscow, September 30, Interfax - Dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics should focus on the actions of the Greek-Catholic Church and the theme of the Uniatism, head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk believes.

"Statements of UGCC supreme archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk with attacks against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate sow distrust between Orthodox and Catholics," the metropolitan said in his interview with Interfax-Religion summing up the results of the 14th plenary session of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue held in Italian Chieti.

He reminded that a historic meeting between Pope Francis and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill took place in Havana in February, "it opened a new page in our bilateral relations," but "right after the meeting, it was subjected to insults of the Greek Catholic Church leaders."

According to the hierarch, the Russian Church will insist that the consequences of the Uniatism should become the next topic for the discussion in frames of the Joint Commission.

"We are not ready to discuss other topics when aggressive anti-Orthodox campaign of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic leaders is continued," he stressed.

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