教宗前往古巴進行歷史性“私人會談”

Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, has embarked on a trip that will take him to Mexico, with a stop in Cuba for a historic meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.

Kirill is in Cuba for a state visit. The Holy See announced last week that Pope Francis will make a stop at Havana's José Martí International airport to have a "personal conversation" with the patriarch and sign a joint declaration. Details of the declaration have not been made public.

The Friday meeting is the first of its kind; an effort to heal the 1,000-year-old schism that has divided Christianity between East and West.

The split between the two churches since 1054 has festered over issues such as the primacy of the pope and accusations by the Russian Orthodox church that the Catholic Church is trying to poach converts in Russia.羅馬天主教教宗方濟各啓程前往墨西哥，出訪期間將在古巴停留，與俄羅斯東正教大牧首基里爾舉行歷史性會晤。

基里爾大牧首目前正在古巴進行正式訪問。梵蒂岡上星期宣佈，教宗將在哈瓦那的何塞·馬蒂國際機場與基里爾大牧首進行“私人談話”，並將簽署一項聯合聲明。目前尚未公佈聲明的具體內容。

星期五的會晤將開創歷史先河，雙方希望藉此彌合東西方兩大基督教派間的千年裂痕。

這兩大教派的分裂始於1054年，後因天主教教宗的至高地位和俄羅斯東正教指責天主教試圖讓俄羅斯東正教徒皈依天主教等問題持續惡化。