VATICAN CITY, 11 MAR 2008 (VIS) - On 9 March Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. concluded his visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, countries visited by John Paul II in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The cardinal's visit to Armenia was postponed for two days because of a state of emergency declared in that country in the wake of recent protests.
Cardinal Bertone met with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, in his see of Etchmiadzin, and consigned him a Letter from Benedict XVI in which the Pope expresses his hopes for peace in the country and for continuation along the path of ecumenism. The cardinal subsequently went on to meet representatives of the Catholic community of Armenia, which is a minority in the country.
On 6 March, Cardinal Bertone began the second stage of his journey, travelling to Azerbaijan where, in the capital city of Baku, he inaugurated in the new Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, a sign, the cardinal said, "of true religious tolerance" in a land with a Muslim majority.
One of the most symbolic moments of the cardinal's visit to this former Soviet republic (in which 94.3 percent of the population is Muslim) was his visit to the mosque of Baku. Allashukur Pashazade, head of Muslims in the Caucasus, recevied the cardinal in his residence in the presence of religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and of the Jewish community.
After visiting the mosque, Cardinal Bertone participated in a prayer of welcome at the Russian Orthodox cathedral where he expressed the hope that, as soon as possible, "the visible unity of the Church may be expressed". He then went on to visit the synagogue of Baku.
The final event of the secretary of State's visit to Azerbaijan was his celebration of Mass on 9 March in Baku's new Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, where he addressed words of encouragement to the Catholic community of the country. The church has been built on land donated to John Paul II on his 2002 visit by President Heydar Aliyev, father of the current head of State.
.../TRIP ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN/BERTONE VIS 20080311 (370)
Cardinal Bertone met with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, in his see of Etchmiadzin, and consigned him a Letter from Benedict XVI in which the Pope expresses his hopes for peace in the country and for continuation along the path of ecumenism. The cardinal subsequently went on to meet representatives of the Catholic community of Armenia, which is a minority in the country.
On 6 March, Cardinal Bertone began the second stage of his journey, travelling to Azerbaijan where, in the capital city of Baku, he inaugurated in the new Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, a sign, the cardinal said, "of true religious tolerance" in a land with a Muslim majority.
One of the most symbolic moments of the cardinal's visit to this former Soviet republic (in which 94.3 percent of the population is Muslim) was his visit to the mosque of Baku. Allashukur Pashazade, head of Muslims in the Caucasus, recevied the cardinal in his residence in the presence of religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and of the Jewish community.
After visiting the mosque, Cardinal Bertone participated in a prayer of welcome at the Russian Orthodox cathedral where he expressed the hope that, as soon as possible, "the visible unity of the Church may be expressed". He then went on to visit the synagogue of Baku.
The final event of the secretary of State's visit to Azerbaijan was his celebration of Mass on 9 March in Baku's new Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, where he addressed words of encouragement to the Catholic community of the country. The church has been built on land donated to John Paul II on his 2002 visit by President Heydar Aliyev, father of the current head of State.
.../TRIP ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN/BERTONE VIS 20080311 (370)
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