JOHN PAUL II WELCOMES DELEGATION FROM BULGARIA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed Bulgaria's foreign minister, Solomon Passy, and the delegation he led to the Vatican on the occasion of the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Also present during this traditional encounter was Metropolitan Kalinik, who greeted the Pope on behalf of Patriarch Maxim.

John Paul II spoke of his imminent trip to Bulgaria, and said that "while my visit to your country will have a pastoral purpose, that of confirming my Catholic brothers and sisters in their faith, it is also my fervent desire to strengthen the bonds of Christian communion between the Catholic Church and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Our encounter will surely help Bulgaria to consolidate its Christian foundations at a time when the old order has gone and a new life is taking shape for your country."

The Pope noted that the vision of Saints Cyril and Methodius "was a vision of unity within diversity, of freedom tied to truth, of hope in the face of every affliction. In visiting Bulgaria I shall be visiting the people born of their witness and meeting the culture which embodies the soul of their teachings."

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