The Prime Minister of Montenegro suggested that a future meeting between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow take place in his nation at a private meeting with Pope Francis on October 10.
On October 11, Dritan Abazovi said in an interview with CNA that “we are a little, peaceful nation without political pretension. We don’t have a strong economy compared to other nations. Even though we are an Orthodox nation, we value communication. Therefore, we may be the nation where the pope arranges significant gatherings of other world religious leaders.
“I offered the pope to come to Montenegro, and I mentioned to the pope that, if he accepts, Montenegro may be the best site to attempt to organize the meeting between Patriarch Kirill and the head of the Russian Orthodox Orthodox Church in Montenegro. Montenegro is so comparable to an Orthodox nation.
There were reports that the pope would visit Montenegro in 2020. This would have served as a pit stop on route to Cyprus and Greece. The trip to Cyprus and Greece took place in 2021, but Montenegro was not a stop along the way.
Prior to the Ukraine conflict, discussions for a follow-up meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, following their 2016 meeting, began.
On March 6, the patriarch and pope had a video conference, and on June 14, a personal meeting in Jerusalem at the conclusion of a tour to Lebanon was scheduled but postponed as well.
Additionally, Pope Francis subsequently said in an interview that he did not think it was appropriate to meet with the Russian patriarch.
On September 14, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill were also slated to meet in Kazakhstan at the Congress of the Leaders of the World and Traditional faiths. But just before the meeting, Patriarch Kirill decided not to attend.
The Montenegrin prime minister is currently recommending his nation for such a gathering in this regard. About 620,000 people live in the country in Southeast Europe, which is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Connecticut and was once a part of Yugoslavia. Currently, it borders Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia.
Following the Rome presentation of Abazovi’s book “A criticism of global ethics,” CNA spoke with the Montenegrin Prime Minister. At his meeting with the prime minister, Pope Francis was presented with a personal copy.
The Pope shouted, “These are my subjects, I am speaking about this all the time,” upon seeing the headline.
A criticism of global ethics, according to Abazovi, is necessary because “globalization is not terrible, but because of globalization, we are ruining the world, and therefore we need to find a method to make globalization better, to make globalization more functional, more fair.”
The collapse of the State as a model gave rise to globalization, the Montenegrin prime minister said, but today the problem of nation-states is making headlines once again and entering political movements.
“National unity is what we need most. We had the Corona issue, which originated in China but spread over the world, and we need unity. And we can no longer dismiss the Russian Federation’s assault on Ukraine as a regional problem. For instance, it is related to and involves the energy crisis. Therefore, one nation cannot defeat it. Regardless of if it has superpowers, it cannot resolve all the problems by itself.
“We need to think more about global unity and of course, global adjustments relevant to global ethics,” says Abazovi. There is no necessity for us to leave the UN. A more functional and productive UN is required.
Because the Roman pontiff “somehow leads around 1.3 billion people, and he plays a vital role in the world society,” the relationship with him is essential to achieving that aim.
The pope’s backing, together with that of other religious leaders, can make a difference, the prime minister is certain of this.