El Salvador children, priest launch initiatives to stave off hunger

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos Mario MARQUEZ, August 22, 2020

Priest Moises Rutilio Moran checks the water filters in a pond where he
breeds fish at his church in Santa Ana, El Salvador

Priest Moises Rutilio Moran didn't sit twiddling his thumbs when the coronavirus pandemic struck and his church emptied -- like many Salvadorans, he got creative helping combat the country's COVID-induced lack of food.

Determined that his church in the city of Santa Ana "shouldn't be a burden on the community," Moran and his staff dug a pond and started selling affordable fish to the local community.

Some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east in El Chaparral, a village of 107 families, children began rolling up their sleeves, cultivating a vegetable garden that is providing food for the community.

The pandemic and its economic woes have sent the price of fruit and vegetables soaring, and left Salvadorans scheming plans to feed themselves.

"I know how to preach, teach the catechism, manage groups, but launching a tilapias project, never," the 41-year-old priest told AFP..

After churches were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Moran started collecting groceries to help 1,700 families, "not just poor people with houses made of (metal) sheets" but also lawyers and engineers who lost their jobs.

However, he soon realized he no longer had the means to pay for the electricity, water, telephone and internet at his church, Our Lady of Rosario.

Church caretaker Roberto Rivas prepares fish bred in a pond to be sold to 

parishioners and visitors in Santa Ana, El Salvador

Thus his project was born: provide cheap fish to the community whose payments would keep the church running "in a reciprocal manner."

On a makeshift table next to the pond, 65-year-old church caretaker Roberto Rivas is in charge of gutting the fish.

While the work is rewarding, Rivas told AFP he hopes the church "opens soon because in these worrying times the faithful need us to accompany them."

After five months of closure, churches are tentatively hoping to reopen their doors on August 30.

While many parish priests laid off their employees due to a lack of resources, Moran's new enterprise means he's actually hired new staff.

William Hernandez, 42, was left unemployed after the pharmacy he worked in for 16 years closed due to the crisis.

Now he wields a net and catches fish "chosen by the customer" while Omar Blanco, 29, serves as one of two workers making deliveries by motorcycle.

A girl holds a bundle of radishes in the community vegetable garden in El Chaparral

"It's an excellent initiative discovering sources of work in the midst of a difficult situation in which we have to reinvent methods (of generating income) for the church," priest Oscar Lagos told AFP as he arrived with a cooler to buy some fish.

'Getting children involved'

In the village of El Chaparral radishes, peppers, cabbages, tomatoes, spinach, blackberries and watermelons grown by the children are a welcome boost.

"It's an initiative in our El Chaparral community aimed at getting children and young people involved," said Victorina Alvarenga, a 32-year-old mother who joins her nine-year-old daughter Sheyla in the garden.

The vegetable patch is divided into plots named after the child in charge. One part of the garden is dedicated to providing food for the elderly.

"We're teaching children the value of solidarity so that when they're adults, they'll be good people," said Alvarenga.

A month after planting seeds, the first harvest produced huge radishes that were enthusiastically "ripped up" by the children.

A boy collects radishes in the El Chaparral community garden

"I'm delighted because I'm bringing fresh food to my family," said Sheyla proudly.

"I don't have any money but I bring healthy food."

The idea has caught on and in the neighboring village of Dimas Rodrigues a score of children have started another community garden.

"We want to produce our own food so we're not dependent on the market," said the group's leader, Pedro Diaz, 22.

Felicia Mijango, in charge of a union of rural communes, says the idea has its roots in the confinement of 10,000 Salvadoran refugees who fled to Ocotepeque in Honduras as civil war raged a decade ago.

The refugees couldn't leave their UN camp that was surrounded by barbed wire so they started growing their own fruit and vegetables.

Mijango says her union actively supports around 100 family and community allotments with help from American and Canadian NGOs.

Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage in first for Central America

Yahoo – AFP, Marco SIBAJA, May 26, 2020

Costa Rica is the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage
(AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

San José (AFP) - Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on Tuesday, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight.

Celebrations were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special program about LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling came into force at midnight.

"This change will bring about a significant social and cultural transformation, allowing thousands of people to marry," said President Carlos Alvarado in the program.

Costa Rica is the eighth country in the Americas to recognise same-sex marriage -- a group that includes Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina, as well as Canada and the US.

The Supreme Court in August 2018 ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to amend the laws. It failed to do that, so the provision was automatically annulled.

"Costa Rica is celebrating today: marriage equality has become a reality in the country -- the first one in Central America," tweeted the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)..

"We rejoice with you: congratulations to all those who worked so hard to make it happen!"

Gay rights activists have long campaigned for the right to
marry in Costa Rica (AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN's Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, called the change "an extraordinary moment of celebration" in a tweet posted on Monday.

Strong Catholic tradition

He expressed "gratitude to the work of so many activists, and of quiet reflection of the lives of those who lived without seeing this moment".

Moments after midnight, Dunia Araya and Alexandra Quiros tied the knot in a town northwest of the capital, San Jose. The young women, both dressed in white, took their vows before a notary wearing a face mask as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Costa Rica has a strong Catholic tradition and has also seen a proliferation of evangelical churches in recent decades. Many followers of those denominations are opposed to gay marriage.

Alvarado, a centrist, was elected to the presidency in April 2018 by comfortably seeing off a challenge from evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado, who campaigned against same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court decision complied with an opinion given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, declaring that homosexual couples have the same rights to marry as heterosexual ones.

Amazon's indigenous people 'never so threatened': pope

Yahoo – AFP, January 19, 2018

Pope Francis shakes hands with an indigenous woman during a meeting with
 Amazon basin community members from Peru, Brazil and Bolivia, in the Peruvian
city of Puerto Maldonado (AFP Photo/Vincenzo PINTO)

Puerto Maldonado (Peru) (AFP) - Pope Francis sounded a stark warning about the future of the Amazon and its peoples during a visit to the region on Friday, saying they had "never been so threatened."

In a speech to thousands of tribe members on the edge of the rainforest in Peru, he said the Amazon and its peoples bore "deep wounds."

Francis lamented "the pressure being exerted by great business interests that want to lay hands on its petroleum, gas, lumber, gold and forms of agro-industrial monocultivation."

Bare-chested tribesmen, their bodies painted and their heads crowned with colourful feathers, danced and sung for the pope when he arrived in the Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado.

Thousands of indigenous people had traveled to meet the pontiff from throughout the Amazon basin region of Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

Members of one of the tribes presented the pope with a bow and arrow in a symbolic gesture aimed at urging him to defend land rights they say they have been stripped of.

"The native Amazonian peoples have probably never been so threatened on their own lands as they are at present," said the pope, who appeared visibly moved by the reception.

"Amazonia is being disputed on various fronts," he said.

"The problems strangle her peoples and provoke the migration of the young due to the lack of local alternatives.

"We have to break with the historical paradigm that views Amazonia as an inexhaustible source of supplies for other countries without concern for its inhabitants."

Pope urges forgiveness in divided Colombia

Yahoo – AFP, Roland Lloyd Parry and Daniela Quintero, September 7, 2017

Pope Francis (L) and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the Nariño
presidential palace in Bogota where they discuss efforts to bring peace with
armed rebel groups (AFP Photo/Raul ARBOLEDA)

Bogota (AFP) - Pope Francis urged Colombians Wednesday to reject "vengeance" for the sufferings of their civil conflict and promote forgiveness to overcome lingering resentments as the country seeks lasting peace.

Cheering crowds greeted the 80-year-old Argentine pontiff as he prayed for the country to heal the wounds of war -- though some warned that forgiveness was hard after so much violence.

Francis spoke alongside President Juan Manuel Santos, who has overseen a controversial peace deal with the FARC rebel force and a ceasefire with the last active guerrilla group, the ELN.

"The steps taken give rise to hope, in the conviction that seeking peace is an open-ended endeavor, a task which does not relent, which demands the commitment of everyone," Francis said.

"May this determination help us flee from the temptation to vengeance and the satisfaction of short-term partisan interests."

Pope Francis is hugged by a boy during his meeting with Colombian President 

Juan Manuel Santos (L) at the Nariño presidential palace in Bogota (AFP Photo/

Alberto PIZZOLI)

Contested peace process

Santos won a Nobel Peace Prize last year for his part in the accord that has seen the FARC disarm and transform into a political party.

It was a key step toward ending a many-sided territorial and ideological conflict that has left 260,000 people confirmed dead, 60,000 unaccounted for and seven million displaced.

But the peace process has been fraught with division. Critics say the FARC rebels got off too lightly, with amnesties and alternative sentences.

"This process is a lie... I believe in God, but I do not need intermediaries," said Bogota resident Luis Eduardo Martinez, 63, commenting on the pope's visit.

"We who saw so many victims die have not lost our resentment. I hope God will allow me to let that resentment go, but it is still there."

People wait for Pope Francis at Bolivar square in Bogota, where he is 

celebrating an open air mass (AFP Photo/Luis ROBAYO)

A plea to youth

In a balcony address later to crowds of young people near Bogota's cathedral, Francis urged them to "dream big" for the country's future.

"Your youthfulness... makes you capable of something very difficult in life: forgiving. Forgiving those who have hurt us," he said.

Francis last year tried unsuccessfully to mediate between Santos and the lead opponent of the FARC accord, conservative leader Alvaro Uribe.

Uribe wrote a Twitter message welcoming "His Holiness Francis" to Colombia on Wednesday, but without commenting on the peace process.

FARC leader Rodrigo Londono also hailed the pope on Thursday, tweeting his thanks to Francis "for supporting the peace and defending social and environmental justice."

Colombians narrowly rejected the accord in a referendum last year. A reworked version was later pushed through Congress.

Santos thanked Francis for coming to "encourage us to take the first step toward reconciliation," in a speech alongside the pope on Thursday.

"There is no use in ending a war if we still see each other as enemies," Santos added.

People wait for Pope Francis at Bolivar square in Bogota, where the pontiff is 

celebrating an open air mass (AFP Photo/Luis ROBAYO)

Praying for victims

After talks with Santos at the presidential palace, Francis visited Bogota cathedral and met with bishops.

He posed for selfies with worshipers and prayed before the image of the Virgin of Chiquinquira, Colombia's patron saint, which was flown to Bogota by helicopter for the occasion.

Francis was scheduled later to celebrate a mass for thousands of worshipers in Simon Bolivar Park.

He will then make daily excursions by plane to the cities of Villavicencio, Medellin and Cartagena.

In Villavicencio, he will beatify two Catholic priests killed during the conflict and pray for reconciliation with victims of violence, former guerrilla members and ex-military fighters.

"The more demanding the path that leads to peace and understanding, the greater must be our efforts to acknowledge each other, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and support one another," Francis said Thursday.

He then headed inside for private talks with Santos.

In Colombia, Pope Francis sends a message of peace to the country that is healing wounds after half a century of war https://t.co/OfRyAm0RAb pic.twitter.com/fZaU6QRCsx

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 7, 2017

Vatican expresses 'concern' on Trump's wall, travel ban

Yahoo – AFP, February 1, 2017

Protesters gather at the Los Angeles International airport's to demonstrate
against President Trump's controversial travel ban (AFP Photo/Konrad Fiedler)

Rome (AFP) - The Vatican on Wednesday voiced "concern" over President Donald Trump's executive orders to build a wall on the US-Mexican border and impose a travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"Naturally, there is concern," the Holy See's number three, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, said on the Catholic TV channel TV2000, in response to a question.

"We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message."

Becciu noted that Pope Francis had repeatedly stressed the need "to integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture."

Trump has run into a storm of criticism since signing orders to build an anti-migrant frontier wall with Mexico and temporarily ban nationals from seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days.

Related Article:

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

World reacts to death of Cuba's Fidel Castro

Yahoo – AFP, November 26, 2016

Castro's ashes will be buried in the southeastern Cuban city of Santiago on
December 4 after a four-day procession through the country, a statement from the
state executive said (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Paris (AFP) - The death of Cuba's Fidel Castro prompted reaction across the spectrum Saturday with some world leaders describing him as a friend and ally, while rights groups recalled his repression of basic freedoms.

Here are some responses to the death of the 90-year-old Cold War icon, whose life was defined by his resistance to the capitalist United States.

Barack Obama

"History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him," said the US president, who made a landmark visit to Cuba in March after diplomatic ties between the two nations were restored.

Donald Trump

The US president-elect called Castro a "brutal dictator", but made no overt mention of earlier threats to roll back a historic rapprochement.

"Fidel Castro's legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights," Trump said in a statement.

Vladimir Putin

"The name of this distinguished statesman is rightly considered the symbol of an era in modern world history," the Russian president said.

"Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia."

Xi Jinping

China's president hailed Castro in a message read out on state television. "The Chinese people have lost a good and true comrade," he said.

"Comrade Castro will live forever. "

Nicolas Maduro

The Venezuelan president, Cuba's main ally in the region, said on Twitter: "It is up to us to continue his legacy and carry his flag of independence."

Bashar al-Assad

"The great leader Fidel Castro led his people's and his country's struggle against imperialism and hegemony for decades," said the Syrian president, hailing Castro's "legendary resistance" to the US embargo against Cuba.

Syria has faced a barrage of US and EU sanctions over its brutal civil war.

Pope Francis

The Catholic world leader sent a message saying he was "praying to the Lord that he may rest in peace".

Ban Ki-moon

"Under former president Castro, Cuba made progress in the areas of education, literacy and health," the UN secretary-general told journalists.

Mikhail Gorbachev

"Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade, when there was colossal pressure on him and he still took his country out of this blockade to a path of independent development," Interfax news agency quoted the former Soviet leader as saying.

Jacob Zuma

The South African president gave one of the warmest tributes, saying: "President Castro identified with our struggle against apartheid. He inspired the Cuban people to join us in our own struggle.

"As a way of paying homage to the memory of President Castro, the strong bonds of solidarity, cooperation and friendship that exist between South Africa and Cuba must be maintained and nurtured."

Francois Hollande

Castro embodied Cuba's revolution in both its "hopes" and its later "disappointments", the French president said in a statement.

Narendra Modi

India's prime minister sent his "deepest condolences" to Cuba.

"Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend," Modi tweeted.

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Castro was "a unique figure who fought against colonialism and exploitation" and was "a model of the fight for independence by oppressed nations", said Iran's foreign minister, the Fars news agency reported.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Brazil's once hugely popular leftist president Lula mourned Castro's death as equivalent to losing a brother.

"His spirit of combativeness and solidarity nourished dreams of liberty, sovereignty and equality," he said.

Rodrigo Duterte

For the Philippines' president, Castro distinguished himself by "standing up against the West and imperialism".

Communist Vietnam

Vietnam's official Communist news agency hailed Castro as "a great leader" who was "the shining reflection of the independence and revolutionary movements of countries in Latin America and around the world".

Mahmud Abbas

"He was a fierce defender ... of justice in the world," said the Palestinian president.

Diego Maradona

The Argentine football legend lamented Castro's death saying, "I'm terribly sad as he was like a second father."

Amnesty International

The London-based human rights organisation said the state of free expression in Cuba was Castro's "darkest legacy".

"Castro's achievements in improving access to public services for millions of Cubans were tempered by a systemic repression of basic freedoms," Amnesty said.

Updated world reactions to the death of Fidel Castro (AFP Photo/Sophie 

Ramis, Iris Royer de Vericourt, Nicolas Ramallo)

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Kryon Q&A

QUESTION (2005): Dear Kryon: I read in a spiritual article that Fidel Castro's mission is to show how to do things without money, that this is the reason why he and the tropical revolution have been kept alive. Is that true? If not, then why didn’t Cuba change when Eastern Europe changed? Has Fidel Castro been working for the light or is he a part of the old energy?

Answer: This leader is of the old energy, but was needed for the time. The real reason was to bring the Soviet Union close to your shores in order to help with the year 2000 Armageddon scenario that didn’t happen. His earthly masters would have played a very important part in Cuba with the nuclear war you didn’t have.

That’s the whole reason, and now he exists as a relic of what didn’t happen. His society is poor, and the culture is not elevated or pleased with itself. This energy will change soon… sooner than you think. Then you will see a Cuba that has been “hiding” for a very long time, and also realize the unbalance and cultural richness that has been there all along.

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa, Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)

"... I want you to watch some countries. I don't have a clock [this statement is Kryon telling us that there is no time frame on his side of the veil, only potentials]. I'll just tell you, it's imminent [in Spirit's timing, this could mean as soon as a decade]. I want you to watch some countries carefully for changes. You're going to be seeing changes that are obvious, and some that are not obvious [covert or assumptive]. But the obvious ones you will see sooner than not - Cuba, Korea [North], Iran, of course, and Venezuela. I want you to watch what happens when they start to realize that they don't have any more allies on Earth! Even their brothers who used to support them in their hatred of some are saying, "Well, perhaps not anymore. It doesn't seem to be supporting us anymore." Watch the synchronicities that are occurring. The leaders who have either died or are going to in the next year or so will take with them the old ways. Watch what happens to those who take their place, and remember these meetings where I described these potentials to you.

The Old Energy is Alive, But Not Happy

I want to tell you something: Old energy dies kicking and screaming. Old energy does not surrender, ever. Old energy simply dies hard and slow. There will be hold-outs for a long time. There will be those who are convinced that the only way to get what they want is to create drama, war, and fear. They continue to want to spring up in places you felt were safe, and to pull you backwards with them. They hate the fact that the earth is going soft on them, and they continue to rattle their sabers, make threats, and make news doing it. They're not the majority, Human Being, but often they are the loudest. When you walk around in perfect health and you are feeling great except for your sore toe, what do you think about? Your SORE TOE! So then you watch your media talk about sore toes for endless hours, and you get depressed. I know you understand the metaphor. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

Pope, patriarch urge Christian unity at historic talks

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere, 13 February 2016

Pope Francis (R) and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill,

 greet each other during a historic meeting in Havana on February 12, 2016 (AFP

Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Havana (AFP) - Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill called in a historic meeting Friday for restored Christian unity and urgent action to help Christians threatened by violence in the Middle East.

"For nearly one thousand years, Catholics and Orthodox have been deprived of communion in the Eucharist," they said in a joint declaration signed after talks in Cuba.

Pope Francis (R) and the head of the

Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, 

kiss each other during a historic meeting in 

Havana on February 12, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Adalberto Roque)

"We are pained by the loss of unity, the outcome of human weakness and of sin."

It was the first meeting between the heads of the Eastern and Western churches since the great schism of 1054 when the churches split apart, with the Eastern church rejecting the authority of Rome.

"Mindful of the permanence of many obstacles, it is our hope that our meeting may contribute to the re–establishment of this unity willed by God," the church leaders said.

Their meeting was driven by rising violence in recent years in the Middle East, where Christian communities have suffered violence at the hands of extremists.

"We call upon the international community to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East," they said.

"In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated," they went on.

"We wish to express our compassion for the suffering experienced by the faithful of other religious traditions who have also become victims of civil war, chaos and terrorist violence."

The 79-year-old Francis, in white robes and a skullcap, and Kirill, 69, in black robes and a white headdress, earlier kissed and embraced before sitting down smiling for the historic meeting at Havana airport.

Between them, they are the spiritual leaders of more than 1.3 billion Christians.

"At last we meet. We are brothers," said the pope as he met the white-bearded Orthodox leader. "Clearly, this meeting is God's will."

Comparison of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, with photos 

of their leaders (AFP Photo/Gustavo IZUS)

Church diplomacy

The meeting on neutral ground -- hosted by the communist, atheist Cuban leadership of Raul Castro -- was decades in the planning, with the final obstacles swept away by the pope's determination and global politics.

"I just wanted to embrace my Orthodox brothers," he said in an interview this week.

But he also framed the encounter in a broader context of engaging Russia, saying Moscow could be an important partner for peace in the world.

Francis has twice received Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican. The Russian leader has clashed with other powers recently over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

The Orthodox Church's refusal to accept the primacy of the Roman pontiff has long been the primary barrier to a rapprochement between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (C) and Cuba's President Raul Castro (R) exchange

gifts after a meeting in Havana on February 12, 2016 (AFP Photo/Enrique de la Osa)

Now there are also tensions over the perceived evangelism of the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe.

The conflict in Ukraine has pitted Ukrainian Catholics loyal to Rome against separatists who are mostly Russian Orthodox.

Meanwhile, violence by armed Islamist groups has surged in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The international community must undertake every possible effort to end terrorism through common, joint and coordinated action," the declaration read.

"We exhort all Christians and all believers of God to pray fervently to the providential creator of the world to protect his creation from destruction and not permit a new world war."

The church leaders warned against the rise of secularism and said European integration must respect religious identities.

Pope Francis (L) is welcomed by Cuban President Raul Castro at the

 International Airport Jose Marti in Havana, on February 12, 2016 (AFP

 Photo/Yamil Lage)

"While remaining open to the contribution of other religions to our civilization, it is our conviction that Europe must remain faithful to its Christian roots," they said.

Francis left after the meeting for a tour of Mexico, while Kirill continued a visit to Cuba, Brazil and Paraguay.

Francis's arrival in Mexico was set to be a luminous affair, with hundreds of thousands of well-wishers expected to line the 12-mile (19-kilometer) route from the airport to the Vatican ambassador's residence in Mexico City.

Believers planned to light up the road Francis's popemobile will travel with their mobile phones or hand-held torches, creating what local organizer Roberto Delgado described as a "wall of light and prayer."

Pope, Russian patriarch sit down together in Cuba for historic meet https://t.co/3VVTKNAe08 pic.twitter.com/yZxhRJ17nL

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 12, 2016

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Pope Francis and other religious leaders at the Vatican. Photograph: AP

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."