VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2004 (VIS) - In remarks made to the faithful who had assembled in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus today, Pope John Paul once again highlighted the process of European integration, and the expansion in May of the European Union, and stressed the undeniable presence and influence of Christianity throughout Europe's history.
"Yesterday, February 14," he noted, "we celebrated the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, apostles of the Slav peoples and patrons of Europe together with St. Benedict, abbot. Evangelizing the central-eastern region of the continent they contributed in a decisive way to allow Christian Europe to breathe with two lungs: that of the West and that of the East. Indeed, it would be impossible to think of European civilization without the work and legacy of St. Benedict, just as one cannot fail to mention the evangelizing and social work of the two brothers from Salonika."
"In recent months," continued the Holy Father, "several countries from Eastern Europe, where Sts. Cyril and Methodius worked, have been involved in the process of political integration of the continent. These are nations that bear a specific cultural and spiritual richness: in them Christianity exercised an extraordinary cohesive force, with respect for their particular characteristics." He underscored, by way of example, how Sts. Cyril and Methodius adapted the Slav language to liturgical texts.
The Pope stated that "the encounter between the Gospel and culture allowed Europe to become a 'laboratory' where, over the centuries, significant and lasting values have been consolidated. Let us pray that, in our days, the universal message of Christ, entrusted to the Church, will be the light of truth and a source of justice and peace for the peoples of the continent and of the entire world."
ANG/CHRISTIANITY:EUROPE/. VIS 20040216 (300)
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