The deviation from traditional values in Catholicism is surprising to us, - Head of the DECR Russian Orthodox Church

The head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, expressed concern about the Roman Catholic Church’s retreat from traditional Christian values. The bishop is convinced that if the Vatican continues to liberalize the issue of attitudes toward LGBT people, the Russian Church will no longer have any topics for joint interaction with the RCC. He stated this in a comment to TASS.

“I do not hide the fact that what we are witnessing today in the Catholic Church in the context of traditional family values cannot but cause surprise and concern. Most recently, the Vatican published the document Fiducia supplicans (“The Begging Trust” — TASS note), which essentially introduces a new practice for Catholics to bless same-sex couples. The Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church analyzed this document and published its review, which contains numerous comments. Deviations from traditional Christian family ethics have already become a sad reality in many Protestant denominations,” — said Metropolitan Anthony.

According to the bishop, the topic of family ethics and traditional moral values is “one of the few that could be discussed with the Roman Catholic Church in the same language.” However, if it turns out that the Vatican will continue to follow the practice of certain Protestant denominations in this matter, the Russian Church will have to finally curtail any topics for dialogue with the RCC.

“For many years, we have been building relations with the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of common themes and issues where our positions coincide. The danger is that the topic of traditional Christian family ethics is essentially falling off our agenda. And if this does happen, I don’t really know what we could talk about with Catholics together,” — added the head of the ROC DECR.