Church denounces Volgograd attacks

Russia’s Orthodox patriarch has condemned suicide bomb outrages in Volgograd, blaming them on people “captive to dark forces”. “Civilians have again been attacked in a bid to create fear and confusion among our fellow citizens – death and mutilation have been sown by terrorists coming from various nations, countries and regions, but sharing an ideology of hatred,” Patriarch Kirill I said in a telegram to the southern city’s governor.

“By striking at innocent people, the terrorists harboured the vain hope of intimidating and breaking the spirit of the people and wreaking havoc in our country. But these intrusions will not succeed, since our people are faithful to the principles of peace and truth.”

The patriarch was reacting to two suicide bombs on Sunday and Monday, which left 31 dead and dozens injured in Volgograd’s railway station and a city bus terminus. He said the Orthodox Church would continue co-operating with the Central Spiritual Office for Muslims in Russia and other groups opposing “aggressive interpretations of Islam”. He added that the attacks, by people “living in anger and captive to dark forces”, had nothing to do with “any references to religion”, and would “unite all concerned citizens in vigorous opposition to the evil of terror”.

The attacks, widely blamed on Islamists seeking to disrupt preparations for the Winter Olympics at the Black Sea port of Sochi on 7-23 February, were also condemned by Muslim leaders in Russia, who urged the authorities to find and punish the perpetrators.

n Patriarch Kirill has expressed high hopes for improving Catholic-Orthodox relations after the election of Pope Francis, writes Josef Pazderka. “We pin great expectations on the election of Pope Francis because much of what the Pope formulates today and suggests for the Church and the world and society coincides with our vision,” said Patriarch Kirill during a late December meeting with the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, in Moscow.

“In the positions of the Bishop of Rome and the Patriarch of Moscow there is a lot in common as regards issues that are sources of concern for many people,” Kirill said. He later cited the two Churches’ positions on the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and family affairs.