POPE GREETS PILGRIMS AT THE END OF HIS GENERAL AUDIENCE

VATICAN CITY, 23 NOV 2011 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience the Holy Father welcomed pilgrims in ten different languages, among them "a delegation from the Catholic-Orthodox Forum, which includes many prelates to whom I address my cordial greetings. To the Catholic members in particular, I express my sincere best wishes for the fortieth anniversary of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE)".

  The Pope also spoke in Croatian to priests and faithful from the Greek-Catholic diocese of Krizevci. "Dear friends", he said, "you have begun celebrating a Jubilee in your eparchy to mark the 400th anniversary of union with the Church of Rome and of the establishment of the eparchy of Marca. Today you are thanking God for all the gifts you have received with this pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. May your centuries-long union with the Bishop of Rome help you to become builders of communion between the Christian East and West".

  Finally Benedict XVI turned to address Hungarian pilgrims "and especially a group of Gypsies from the province of Tolna. May the splendour of the faith guide you along the roads of life", he said.
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