Reasons of Anti-Catholicism

(1) Russian neophytes (and most Russian Orthodox, priests included, are newcomers of 1990-s) hate all non-Russian Orthodox confessions because they are simply afraid to loose grace. Their religious experience is connected with specific forms of worship and they don't understand that forms can digger and experience will be the same. I think this situation will change with those people (most people) who continue to pray and think. Sooner or later they will understand the dialectics of religious life.

(2) Anti-Catholicism in Russia is the part of anti-Western phobia. Most people identify Western Europe with Roman Catholicism. Russian liberal intellectuals like Roman Catholicism nand this Pope (even if they are not Catholics) as the symbol of liberal values (don't smile, please!)

(3) Pope's trip to Ukraine awakened anti-Cathilic feelings because most Russians (even intellectuals) still don't feel (and some don't understand) that Ukraine is the independent country and that Ukrainians are a completely original nation, not simple spoilt Russians.

Priest Sergey Rybko from Moscow wrote in "Radonezh" (#112, May, 2001, p. 16): "Even if some day we'll manage to come to an agreement with Roman Catholics on the dogmatic questions, on Church leadership, on rites, -- still we couldn't unite with them because Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics have different understanding of spirituality, of prayer. ... Catholics ... aim at ecstasy, at elation. ... Russian Orthodox spirituality is aimed at gratification to God." In Russian "gratification to God" sounds as "bogougozhdeniye," "smaking what is pleasant to God."

These words are precious because they demonstrate what is usually hidden: hatred to Catholics is fed not by Ukrainian question.