This small article was especially meaningful to me because my son went on a mission to the city of Vladivostok for a two week period three years ago. During that time they were not allowed to mention the word God and could not say they were missionaries. In the end, except for any direct questions, they found that they could only teach by example. It was an entirely unique experience living, even for a short period of time, in a society that is largely absent of God.

Pope won't meet Russian Orthodox leader, but ties warming
Tue Jan 23, 2:16 PM ET
A meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Alexis II, spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, is not on the horizon despite warming bilateral ties, Cardinal Walter Kasper said.

"We hope things will ripen for such a meeting, but for the moment there is nothing concrete in this area," Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told a press briefing.

But he hailed "ever closer collaboration" between the Vatican and the patriarchate of Moscow.
He noted the work of a joint commission that is currently looking into accusations that the Roman Catholic Church is proselytizing in Russia.

"This has helped to create a new climate," Kasper said.

Rapprochement between the Vatican and the Orthodox churches of the world is "on the right track," he added, even though "extraordinary results cannot be expected right away."