Russian patriarch, criticised by Pope Francis, sends warm message to Leo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a message of congratulations on Friday to Pope Leo, whose predecessor Pope Francis had criticised Kirill's backing for Russia's war in Ukraine.

"You are beginning your ministry as the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church at a special historical moment, associated with a number of civilisational challenges as well as with certain signs of hope," Kirill wrote to Leo, elected by a college of cardinals on Thursday to serve as the first pope from the United States.

"In this context, the relationship between the Christian East and West is of particular importance for the fate of the world."

Kirill did not say what he meant by "signs of hope", although he may have been referring to U.S.-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been a powerful ally of President Vladimir Putin, giving its blessing to the war and supporting his campaign to uphold what he calls traditional values in Russian society, in contrast to perceived Western decadence.

In 2022, the Russian church scolded Pope Francis for using the wrong tone after he urged Patriarch Kirill not to become the Kremlin's "altar boy", saying such remarks would hurt dialogue between the two churches.

In his message to Leo, however, Kirill held open the possibility of building bridges.

"I sincerely hope that with your participation, the relations between our churches will progressively develop for a joint witness to Christ and the manifestation to humanity of the enduring beauty of life based on the commandments of God," he said.

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Alex Richardson)