Moscow, Russia - The Russian Orthodox Church plans to set up a center to deal with issues related to human rights and liberties, in the context of Russian national and church traditions.
"The main mistake of human rights organizations today is that their activities do not incorporate the views and values of a majority of our people. The inconsistencies in the current activities of human rights groups must be dealt with," Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad told a news conference at Interfax on Thursday.
The problem of human rights "must remain in the focus of attention of civil society and the Russian Orthodox Church," said Metropolitan Kirill, who heads the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations.
Metropolitan Kirill added that human rights and liberties would be among the central issues to be discussed at the 10th World Russian People's Assembly.
The Assembly will also discuss the Russian Orthodox Church's plan to set up its own human rights center, which is to formulate the idea of human rights "in the context of our own national, cultural and church tradition."
Metropolitan Kirill said that the current concept of human rights emanates from the Western culture, and that "Russian civilization has nothing to do with it."
"We, as a great and unique civilization, must not find ourselves in the position of the led party again," he said.