Although it can be considered a feat that is of the upmost importance throughout time, but nevertheless especially in this day in age of worldly anger and controversy, amending ties that have been broken is a great step towards repair of relations. This can be on a huge scale; whether it considers a recent, petty argument between two countries, or a timeless argument that has existed for centuries, making amends not only demonstrates huge personal or societal growth for those involved, but it also demonstrates to citizens around the world on how to make amends. Recently Pope Francis has made news about his one conquest to make amends.

According to the article entitled “Pope Francis to have historic meeting with head of Russian Orthodox Church” written by both Richard Greene and Joshua Berlinger and published by CNN, what has been called the one of the most important meetings that has almost taken a whole millennium to happen, a meeting between both Pope Francis and Patriarch Kyril, who serves as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will take place in Cuba on Friday February, 12th. This meeting can be viewed as extremely symbolic and needed, as it will help ease tensions from an argument that has occurred for centuries. According to the article “It will be the first meeting between the heads of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches in history. The Eastern Orthodox and Western factions of Christianity broke apart during the Great Schism in 1054. The Vatican has repaired relations with several branches of Orthodox Christianity in recent decades, but the Russian Church accused Catholics of trying to convert Russians after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989, leading to tensions between the churches.”

Although there has been great tension between the two Christian churches, and there have been efforts in the past in amending the ties, Pope Francis has been reported as eager in getting the meeting with Patriarch Kyril, as according to the article “Pope Francis has made concerted efforts to heal the breach, telling Patriarch Kyril in 2014 that ‘I’ll go wherever you want. You call me and I’ll go.” Ultimately, the decision to host the meeting in Cuba was considered the best place for the meeting to occur, as the country has been described in the article as neutral ground for both of the church leaders, as well as the fact that Patriarch Kyril will already be on an official visit to the country, allowing him to not have to make other plans at arriving to the country. Ultimately, according to the article, “A joint news release from the Holy See and the Patriarchate of Moscow said Francis and Kyril will have a ‘personal conversation’ at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana and will conclude their meeting by signing a joint declaration.”

This meeting has been wanted for centuries, the article further reported. According to John Allen, a Vatican analyst for CNN, this meeting has been wanted and suggested between the two churches for over a century. Specifically, John Allen spoke of former Pope John Paul the 2nd’s wish to have a meeting between the two churches, specifically stating that “This was the apple of John Paul’s eye, this was his dream. He wanted to go to Moscow and meet the Patriarch of Moscow.

The meeting between the two churches also has greater ties then what they were arguing about, as the “persecution of Christians in the Middle East and African reportedly prompted the Russians to consider meeting with their Catholic counterparts.” Because of the issue at hand, the two heads of the churches decided that it would be better to put aside internal disagreements in order to focus on the issues at hand.