Russian Orthodox Church says Pope Francis ‘chose the wrong tone’ over ‘Putin’s altar boy’ comment

by Joseph Saraceno
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, left, and Pope Francis talk during a meeting at the Jose Marti airport in Havana, Cuba, in February 2016.

The Russian Orthodox Church hit back at the Vatican this week after Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that Patriarch Kirill should not “transform himself into Putin’s altar boy” amid the invasion of Ukraine. MORE