HOLY FATHER MEETS WITH THE FIVE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF GREECE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2001 (VIS) - Following the courtesy visit to the residence of the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, where both Church leaders met in private and then spoke in the presence of their collaborators and exchanged gifts, the Pope left for the apostolic nunciature shortly after 1:30 p.m. There he had lunch and held a meeting with the Catholic bishops of Greece.

In that meeting, following a greeting by Archbishop Nikolaos Foscolos of Athens, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Bishops of Greece, John Paul II said: "To our brothers and sisters of the Orthodox Church dwelling in this land we are united by a powerful bond of faith in our common Lord. How we wish that all hearts were open and all arms outspread to welcome our fraternal greeting of peace!"

"You are 'frontier' bishops," the Pope continued. "Because of the particular conditions in which you are living, you greatly desire that the obstacles which stand in the way of full union, and which cause such suffering for you and your faithful, will be quickly overcome. And so, as you assert your just rights, you urge the Catholic Church, at times impatiently, to take steps capable of revealing with ever greater clarity the common foundations which unite the ancient Churches of Christ."

The Holy Father thanked the prelates for their "passionate concern, which is a sign of great generosity. I assure you that I share the same fervent desire that the unity of the Church may be seen, as quickly as possible, in all its fullness. I likewise agree with you that there must be a continuation of the efforts, forcefully stated and encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, by which the Catholic Church herself strives, in her own daily life, to be ever more concerned to lay the foundations for better understanding with her brothers and sisters of the other Churches. These other Churches, in the meantime, must not fail to do their part in the quest for communion."
"What I wish to emphasize today is that the Pope is here, with you, in this very land, in order to demonstrate a solidarity which is also physical, a genuine and affectionate esteem, and an unfailing remembrance in his thoughts and prayers."

The Holy Father concluded by exhorting the Catholic bishops not to lose hope: "The Lord certainly holds unexpected consolations in store for those who trust in Him. Work together in harmony, with gentleness and charity, courageous in the truth. Know that the Pope remembers you and your work daily in his prayer."

At 4:30 p.m. the Pope is scheduled to visit the Catholic Cathedral of St. Dionysius of Athens, situated in the historic center of the city near the residence of the Catholic archbishop. Inaugurated in 1865, it was raised to a Basilica in 1877 by Pope Pius IX and is dedicated to Dionysius the Areopagite, disciple of Paul and first bishop of Athens.

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POPE ASKS FORGIVENESS FOR SINS AGAINST ORTHODOX

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2001 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope travelled from the presidential palace to the residence of the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, for a courtesy visit to His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of all Greece.

After a speech by the Orthodox metropolitan, John Paul II, speaking English, addressed the archbishop, the members of the Holy Synod and the bishops of the Orthodox Church in Greece.

The Pope made reference to the past and present controversies and misunderstandings which "can and must be overcome, for that is what the Lord asks of us. Clearly there is a need for a liberating process of purification of memory. For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of Him."

After recalling "the disastrous sack of the imperial city Constantinople, which was for so long the bastion of Christianity in the East," John Paul II said: "It is tragic that the assailants, who had set out to secure free access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their own brothers in the faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret. ... To God alone belongs judgement, and therefore we entrust the heavy burden of the past to His endless mercy, imploring Him to heal the wounds which still cause suffering to the spirit of the Greek people."

"At this meeting," the Pope continued, "I also wish to assure Your Beatitude that the Church of Rome looks with unaffected admiration to the Orthodox Church of Greece for the way in which she has preserved her heritage of faith and Christian life. The name of Greece resounds wherever the Gospel is preached. ... The universal Church can never forget what Greek Christianity has given her, cannot cease to give thanks for the enduring influence of the Greek tradition."
The Holy Father recalled that "in 1965 the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, by a mutual act, removed and cancelled from the Church's memory and life the sentence of excommunication between Rome and Constantinople. This historic gesture stands as a summons for us to work ever more fervently for the unity which is Christ's will. Division between Christians is a sin before God and a scandal before the world. It is a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel, because it makes our proclamation less credible."

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Pope and His Beatitude Christodoulos signed a joint declaration on the Christian roots of Europe, which will be read in the afternoon, during the Holy Father's visit to the Areopagus.

John Paul II then went to the Apostolic Nunciature of Athens to lunch with the Catholic bishops of Greece and the cardinals and bishops in the Pope's entourage.

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JOHN PAUL II IS FIRST POPE TO VISIT GREECE IN 1,000 YEARS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2001 (VIS) - After a two-hour flight from Rome, Pope John Paul arrived in Athens this morning at 11:30 local time, starting his 93rd apostolic trip outside of Italy. He was welcomed at Spata Airport by church officials, including the apostolic nuncio in Greece, Archbishop Paul Tabet and Archbishop Nikolaos Foscolos of Athens. He was also met by a minister of the Greek government as Greek protocol calls for welcoming ceremonies to take place at the presidential palace.

As he has done for every foreign apostolic trip upon arriving for the first time in a country, the Holy Father kissed the native soil. Today a portion of Greek soil was brought to him in a container by a nun. The soil was from the Orthodox monastery of Timios Stavros.

Athens, once a city-state and a cradle of Western civilization, is now the capital of Greece. It has a population of 4,000,000, including suburban areas. The archdiocese of Athens comprises 6,000,000 people, of whom 30,000 are Catholic. There is also the apostolic exarch of Greece for Greek Catholics of the Byzantine rite (2,300 Catholics) and the ordinariate of Greece for Catholics of the Armenian rite residing in Greece (550 Catholics). In addition, there are very small communities in Athens of Italian, French and Spanish Catholics, each with their own chaplain. Native-born Catholics in Greece number about 50,000 total, whereas the immigrant Catholic population is estimated to be 150,000.

Upon his arrival at the presidential palace, the Pope was met by the president of the Hellenic Republic, Constantinos Stephanopoulos, who had been received in the Vatican this past January by Pope John Paul. The welcoming ceremony took place in the palace gardens.

The Holy Father, who is the first Pope in 1,000 years to visit Greece, spoke of his "deep desire" to mark the Jubilee Year 2000 "by becoming a pilgrim to some of the places connected with the history of salvation. This desire became a reality with my pilgrimage to Sinai and the Holy Land. Now it is to Greece that I come as a pilgrim, in the footsteps of St. Paul."

He also recalled that "it was here in the city of Athens that there began the dialogue between the Christian message and the Hellenistic culture, a dialogue which would decisively shape European civilization." He added that "certainly the first encounters of Christianity and high Greek culture were difficult" but "once the initial distrust was overcome, Christian writers began to see in Greek culture an ally rather than an enemy, and there emerged great centers of Christian Hellenism throughout the Mediterranean world. ... Gradually, then, the Hellenistic world became Christian and Christianity became to a certain extent Greek."

John Paul II then highlighted how "Hellenistic culture is characterized by its attention to the education of the young," saying this is still valuable for society today. He underscored that "Among the most sure elements are the moral aspects contained in the Hippocratic Oath, which emphasizes the principle of unconditional respect for human life in the maternal womb."

In concluding remarks, the Holy Father said: "Geography and history have set your country, Mr. President, between East and West, and this means that Greece's natural vocation is to build bridges and a culture of dialogue. ... This task of integrating the Eastern and Western parts of Europe remains complex, and there is still much to be done to bring harmony between the Christians of the East and West, so that the Church can breathe with both her lungs. All believers should see themselves as having a duty to work for this objective. The Catholic Church in Greece desires to share loyally in this noble cause, which also has positive effects in the social sphere."

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AVISO

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2001 (VIS) - As it did for Pope John Paul's Jubilee Year pilgrimages, the Vatican Information Service will transmit a supplementary edition of its news tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, on the Pope's pilgrimage to Greece, Syria and Malta.

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