The message, written in French, states: «I send, Your Holiness, my most heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the feast of St. Alexis.»
«I ask the Lord to guide us, beyond the difficulties we are experiencing, in search of dialogue toward a way of greater collaboration in order to reach that unity to which we all aspire,» the papal message adds.
The Moscow Patriarchate canceled a visit planned for the end of February by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in protest over the creation of four Catholic dioceses in Russian territory on Feb. 11.
