Press version of statement by Pope Francis of the Catholic Church following his meeting with Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Orthodox Church of Moscow and All Russia
Your Holiness, Eminences, Reverends;
We spoke as brothers, we were both baptized the same way, we are Bishops. We spoke of our Churches, and agreed that unity is achieved moving forward. We spoke clearly, without mincing words. I confess to you that I have felt the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in this dialogue.
I am grateful for the humility of His Holiness, fraternal humility, and his best wishes for unity.
We have emerged with a series of initiatives which I believe are viable and can be accomplished. Thus, I want to thank His Holiness one more time for his kind reception, as well as the collaborators, and I will mention two: His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarión and his Eminence Cardinal Koch, along with all their teams who have worked for this.
I do not want to leave without expressing heartfelt thanks to Cuba, the great Cuban people, and their President, here present. I am grateful for his active participation. If this continues, Cuba will be the capital of unity. May all of this be for the glory of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and for the holy people, faithful to God, under the protection of Our Lady, Mother of God.