Expert: Pope's visit to Ukraine may affect rapprochement of OCU and UGCC

The leaders of the OCU and the UCCC at the "Candle of Memory" memorial sign. Photo: news.ugcc.ua

The head of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), Pope Francis, in the event of his arrival in Ukraine to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Independence, will act in the direction of the development of the ecumenical process with Patriarch Bartholomew, who is inclined towards this, which will entail a rapprochement between the OCU headed by Sergei (Epiphany) Dumenko and the UGCC, said the Ukrainian political expert, head of the "Third Sector" centre Andrey Zolotarev, in a comment for the UOJ.

He believes that the head of the Vatican will distance himself from internal Ukrainian religious conflicts and allows for a joint "action" of Pope Francis and the Patriarchate of Constantinople to be held in Ukraine. “The Pope will try to distance himself from internal Ukrainian issues. I think that the main theme that may be between them is in the perspective of Bartholomew's line of rapprochement with Rome. Perhaps, there will be some kind of joint action,” the political scientist said.

As reported, the arrival of the Pope in Ukraine will try to use the UGCC for its expansion, political analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky believes.

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