Cardinal Barreto, who met privately with the pope March 4, said he informed the pontiff that several institutions in the country “have sought out the church, and have spoken to me personally, to see how we can jointly create a roundtable of dialogue for Peru, independent of our faith or of the political instances that may exist.”
As is customary after a papal trip, the pope dedicated the main portion of his general audience Feb. 8 to sharing with visitors and pilgrims the highlights of his visit Jan. 31-Feb. 5 to Congo and South Sudan.
The pope and the patriarch send delegations to each other’s churches each year for the celebrations of their patron saints’ feast days: the Vatican’s June 29 celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the patriarchate’s celebration of the feast of St. Andrew.
The Vatican has issued a statement protesting a Chinese decision to create a new diocese and to transfer a bishop appointed by Pope Francis.
For 2022, instead of the traditional classroom-style seating in parallel rows, the format for the bishops’ meeting Nov. 14-17 was changed to feature round tables in which the bishops can see each other and more easily see the room and who is speaking.
One of the paths they identified was “bridge-building” among religions and traditions and also “principled engagement with governments” and nongovernmental agencies on issues of human rights, eradication of poverty, human trafficking, care of the earth, and other common concerns.
In an Oct. 26 letter to Biden sent by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, the organizations condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and urged Biden not to respond in kind if such weapons are used.
The Russian foreign minister continued expressing his appreciation for the cardinal’s efforts “to promote more stability, more justice and, of course, the rule of law.”
