POPE GREETS DELEGATION FROM EX-YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed a delegation from the ex-Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in Rome for their traditional visit on the occasion of the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, "the Apostles of the Slavs."

"By the power of God," John Paul II observed, "the two brothers of Salonika made a decisive and enduringly valid contribution to the building of Europe. Not only did they bring different peoples together in the bond of Christian communion, but they also brought cultural and civic unity to the lands where they worked. In recent times the peoples of the Balkans have known much suffering and fear, and I therefore feel obliged to recall the immediate and practical relevance of the teaching that Saints Cyril and Methodius have left behind."

"Given the tensions and conflicts in your region," the Pope concluded, and the threat which they represent to individuals and to society, the path traced by Saints Cyril and Methodius remains as valid as ever."

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