FIRST VOLUME OF THE RUSSIAN CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA PUBLISHED

VATICAN CITY, APR 23, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father received this morning Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, metropolitan archbishop of the diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Russia, who presented to him, along with a group of academics and professors, the first volume of the Russian Catholic Encyclopedia.

After thanking Archbishop Kondrusiewicz for the initiative of "offering to the Russian people this significant gift that illustrates the tradition, life and doctrine of the Catholic Church," the Pope greeted the pastors and the faithful of the Russian Federation.

"The encyclopedia that you have prepared," he said, "is an important contribution that Catholics want to offer to Russian- speakers who want to study in depth the treasures that God has given to men through the Church. With this work, the Catholic community, present in Russia for many centuries, reaffirms its will to collaborate with the great Russian culture in order to weave together with it a worthy and fruitful dialogue, in benefit of the people that express it."

John Paul II said he hoped that the effort in the preparation of the volume "will contribute to deepening the reciprocal knowledge and esteem among those who live Christ's Gospel in your beloved country."

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