VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2004 (VIS) - A group of pilgrims from Slovakia, accompanied by Cardinals Jan Korec and Jozef Tomko and by President Rudolf Schuster, was welcomed to the Vatican today by John Paul II who recalled the three times he visited their country: in 1990 after the fall of the communist regime, in 1995 and again in 2003.
Noting that their visit coincides with the feast today of Cyril and Methodius, the Slav brothers and saints who are patrons of Slovakia and co-patrons of Europe, the Pope said that "the witness of these two great apostles of the Slavs is a strong reminder to rediscover the roots of the European identity of your people, roots that you share with other nations on the continent." Your faith, he told the Slovak pilgrims, represents the richest and most solid patrimony of your people. Safeguard and nourish it, he said: "It must not be hidden, but proclaimed and witness to with courage."
The Holy Father pointed out that Jesus taught the disciples to be "'the salt of the earth, .and the light of the world'. Being 'salt' and 'light' means making the Gospel truth shine in your daily personal and community choices. It means keeping unchanged the spiritual legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius by opposing the widespread tendency to conform to homologous and standardized models.
"Slovakia and Europe of the Third Millennium," he underscored, "have become enriched by many cultural contributions but it would be deleterious to forget that Christianity contributed in a decisive manner to the formation of the continent. You, dear Slovaks, offer your significant contribution to the hoped-for building of European unity, making yourselves the voice of those human and spiritual values which have given meaning to your history. It is indispensable for these ideals that you have lived with coherence to continue to guide a free Europe that offers solidarity, capable of harmonizing its diverse cultural and religious traditions."
AC/SLOVAKIA:CHRISTIANITY/. VIS 20040216 (330)
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