JOHN PAUL II RECALLS HIS TRIP TO INDIA AND GEORGIA

VATICAN CITY, NOV 17, 1999 (VIS) - In today's general audience held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II recalled his apostolic trip to India and Georgia which took place from November 5 to 9.

The Pope indicated that the first stage of his pilgrimage was to New Delhi where he signed and promulgated the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia," fruit of the assembly of that continent's Synod of Bishops, which took place at the Vatican in 1998.

This document, affirmed the Pope, "helps us to understand that inter-religious dialogue and the Church's mandate to spread the Gospel to the confines of the earth are not mutually exclusive, rather they complement one another. On the one hand, the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ must always be proclaimed with profound respect for the consciences of those who listen, ... on the other hand, freedom of conscience and the free exercise of religion in society are fundamental human rights."

"Georgia was the second stage of my journey," he continued, "where I returned the visits made to Rome in the past by President Sheverdnadze and His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia."

This country, added the Holy Father, "is preparing, in a context of newly found independence, to celebrate 3000 years of history (and) faces great social and economic challenges. Nonetheless, it is determined to face them with courage in order to become a dependable member of a united Europe. Christian Georgia has a glorious, millenarian history." John Paul II concluded by saying: "Now, after 70 years of communist repression, ... the small but vigorous Catholic community in the Caucasus is progressively strengthening its life and structure."

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