The Pope Will Arrive Without Maxim's Invitation

- Monsignor Eldarov, is there preconditions for Pope John-Paul II visit to Bulgaria after the synod headed by metropolitan Innocentius also invited him on behalf of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC)?
- An opportunity for the Pope to visit Bulgaria will be found anyway. The terms of his visit are changing continuously. He insisted on having invitation from the BOC. But the invitation was delayed. In the meantime, on January 23, during the devotional week in Vatican, metropolitan Galaction said: "Though the BOC is not authorized to invite him for canonical reasons, if he is to arrive the Church will show all the hospitality due to a person of his rank." The holy father does not insist any more on a special invitation from the spiritual leader of Bulgaria. In Ukraine, for example, he will make a visit without being asked by all the three Orthodox factions but solely on the President's invitation.
- Is John-Paul II dangerous for the Bulgarian Orthodoxy?
- The Pope does not threaten the Orthodoxy. In Romania - where the Orthodox Christianity predominates - the Orthodoxy will only benefit from it. In Bulgaria the Holy Father will stress on Orthodoxy, rather than Catholicism which is not widely represented. It will be honorable for the BOC being respected by a world religious leader.
- When should we expect the visit of John-Paul II at the earliest?
- After the statement of Father Galaction in Vatican there is no problem for his arrival. It is left to the cabinet to fit the date of the visit into his yearly agenda according to his state of health. The Holy Father will make every effort to be of help in preaching the Gospel in Bulgaria as well.

Silvia Nikolova
silvia@standartnes.com

Your Comment