The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II has criticized the Vatican behavior exhibited to Russia and other ex-Soviet states, the Associated Press news agency reported Tuesday.

He said the Vatican was pursuing an “extremely unfriendly policy” accusing Catholic priests of working to convert people baptized as Orthodox believers to Catholicism and discriminating against the Orthodox in western Ukraine.

Russian Orthodox officials accuse Catholic Church representatives of poaching in the traditionally Orthodox regions of Russia and some other ex-Soviet republics. The Vatican has rejected the proselytizing allegations, saying it is only ministering to Russia’s tiny Catholic community — about 600,000 people in a country of 144 million.

“I hope the Vatican will undertake concrete steps to change the situation for the better,” Alexy II was quoted as saying.

If the situation does not change it will reflect visible coolness in Orthodox and Vatican relations and “will not bring relief to people who suffer from the non-brotherly actions”, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church thinks.

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