POPE, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX LEADER TO MEET IN CUBA

Pope Francis, pictured right, and Patriarch Kirill I, pictured left, of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba for the first time next Friday as part of an effort to heal a schism that has divided Christianity between East and West for nearly 1,000 years.

The meeting, the first ever between a sitting pope and Russian patriarch, will take place at Jose Martí International Airport, where the two will sign a joint declaration. “This meeting of the Primates of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after a long preparation, will be the first in history and will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches,” said a joint press release.

The meeting would culminate decades of overtures seeking to bridge suspicions and rifts that span both historical and contemporary grievances.