Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
May 29, 2002
In Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, pope preaches tolerance, Christian unity
Pope describes himself as `an ambassador of peace' on groundbreaking trip
By John Thavis
SOFIA, Bulgaria (CNS) — Visiting Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, countries with small Catholic populations, Pope John Paul II appealed for a "spirit of tolerance" between religions and greater unity among Christians.
The pope's journey in late May marked the first papal trip ever to the two countries and underscored his determination to engage non-Catholics in dialogue.
At the same time, the pope's own declining health was on display, as he struggled to move and speak during the relatively heavy schedule of events with religious and civil leaders.
In the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, a Muslim country with 120 Catholics, the pope May 22 pleaded for religious tolerance around the globe and an end to violence in the name of God.
He told religious and cultural leaders in Baku, Azerbaijan, that true peace requires "rejection of fundamentalism and every form of imperialism." Christians, Muslims and Jews should together "proclaim to the world: enough of wars in the name of God," he said.
"I have come to Azerbaijan as an ambassador of peace. As long as I have breath within me I shall cry out: `Peace in the name of God,'" he said.
From the moment the pope arrived, his physical problems were evident: Instead of walking down a set of stairs, he was lowered to the tarmac on an open "papal lift" behind the aircraft — a first in 24 years of papal travel.
He pronounced only the first part of his Russian-language arrival speech, in a weak voice that few people, if any, could understand. An aide read the rest of the text, a practice adopted throughout his trip.
The lack of Catholic facilities in Baku forced the pope to stay in a hotel for the first time. Because Stalin ordered the city's Catholic church demolished in the 1930s, the pope celebrated Mass May 23 in a sports center normally used for volleyball and handball games.
He called Catholics his "little flock" and said: "The heart of the whole Church beats with affection and love for you."
Besides the entire Catholic community, which sat up front, about 1,200 other Azerbaijanis — Orthodox Christians, Protestants and many Muslims — attended the Mass.
The pope paid homage to all Christians who suffered under decades of communism.
"You saw your religion mocked as mere superstition. ... You were regarded as second-class citizens and were humiliated and marginalized in many ways," he said.
For the Catholics in his audience, it was like a dream come true.
"He took the time to come here and visit a little parish, so that we could be proud. Any other person would be resting at his age," said 79-year-old Helena Meire, a Catholic native of Baku.
The pope encouraged the Catholic community to help transform Azerbaijan's post-communist society, which is facing problems of economic imbalance and corruption.
"Be cautious, but have the courage to make things new. There is need for renewal here too, in this land," he said.
Before leaving the country May 23, he blessed a foundation stone for a new church in Baku.
In Bulgaria, the pope brought words of comfort to a country once suspected in a plot to kill him — the alleged "Bulgarian connection" to the 1981 papal shooting. The Bulgarian defendants were acquitted in a 1986 trial in Rome.
The pope told Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov that he "never believed in the `Bulgarian connection' because of his high regard and respect for the Bulgarian people," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
"I say to all that I have never ceased to love the Bulgarian people," the pope said at a welcoming ceremony May 23. The line was met with applause by several thousand well-wishers who gathered in a square in front of the main Orthodox cathedral in downtown Sofia.
Many in the crowd were Orthodox Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the country's 7.7 million people. Bulgarian Catholics number 80,000. Although the Bulgarian Orthodox Church never officially invited the pontiff, its leaders said they would welcome him in a spirit of hospitality. Patriarch Maxim, head of the local Orthodox Church, unexpectedly showed up at the welcoming ceremony, leaving Vatican officials especially pleased. When the pope paid a visit May 24 to the patriarch and members of the Holy Synod, he brought them two gifts: a relic of an early Christian saint and permission to use a prominent Catholic church in Rome for liturgical ceremonies. Orthodox prelates led the frail pontiff on a tour of the St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, where, as on other stops throughout his trip, the pope used a wheeled platform to move around. At his residence, Patriarch Maxim held the pope's hand in greeting, then listened as a priest read a papal text calling their encounter a "moment of joy." Christian division "scandalizes the world," and both sides are to blame for inter-Christian clashes of past centuries, the pope said. He spoke of increasing ecumenical bonds between Catholics and Orthodox. But not all the Orthodox were happy about the pope's presence. Orthodox Bishop Neofit, a member of the synod from a diocese in northern Bulgaria, told reporters at the event: "For some Orthodox, the pope is a heretic. That's why several members of the synod stayed away." In a significant gift for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the pope presented the patriarch with a bone of St. Dasius that had been held for more than 1,000 years in an Italian cathedral. The saint, a Roman soldier, was martyred in Bulgaria in 303. The pope also announced that as a sign of ecumenical charity and cooperation, he was offering a well-known church in Rome — facing the Trevi Fountain — as a place of worship for Bulgarian Orthodox in the city. The pope's visit coincided with the May 24 feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Greek brothers who evangelized Central Europe in the ninth century. He called them examples of unity for East and West and a reminder to modern European politicians that European unity must be based on the values of its "Christian roots," not just economics. On May 25-26, the pope was to visit a historic Orthodox monastery, meet with young people and beatify three Bulgarian priests executed under communist rule in 1952.
Contact Us
