CREDENTIALS OF NEW AMBASSADOR OF GREECE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 2, 2002 (VIS) - Today John Paul II received the Letters of Credence of the new ambassador of Greece to the Holy See, Christos Botzios. In the speech in French, the Holy Father recalled the trip that he made last year to the country and his meeting with His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens. "On the areopagus," he said, "we evoked the painful memories of the past but above all we reaffirmed our common will to do everything possible to forge ahead on the way of Christian fraternity and unity which we must find again."

Afterward the Pope emphasized that the Christian faith was one of the "constitutive elements" of the Greek nation, as well as "a source that can bring dynamism and perspectives of the future to the European construction. I have expressed many times," he continued, "my concern ... about the fact that the communities of believers are not mentioned explicitly among the subjects that must contribute to the reflection on the Convention instituted at the summit of Laeken in the face of a possible European Constitution."

After recalling the incorporation of Greece into the European Union and the Hellenic contribution to the continent at the "social, cultural and religious" level, John Paul II manifested his appreciation for the "attention shown by the Greek authorities for the expansion of Europe, in particular to the Balkan states. It is evident that openness to different European nations will allow the lasting retreat of any danger of conflicts in the region ... the progressive welcoming of all countries will foster a culture of peace and solidarity which is one of the driving forces of the European project."

At the end of his speech, the Holy Father greeted Greek Catholics, "few in number and dispersed in small communities who are suffering through a difficult situation in terms of having their rights recognized at the heart of the nation. I take advantage of this occasion to call attention once again to the need by your government to grant ... a juridical statute to the Catholic Church. It is necessary ... that the religious freedom of Catholics is fully respected, as well as that of other believers, and to give to the dioceses and local communities the necessary means for their mission. Catholics, for their part, wish to maintain a true dialogue with their Orthodox brothers and want more than to participate in the economic, political and social life of the country, in which they are already fully committed in other ways."
Keys: CD;GREECE;...;BOTZIOS;VIS;20020902;Word: 430;