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• Chief Mufti: Period Marked by Pope's Lifework
Will Go Down in History
as Watershed
• On Pilgrimage
to Rila Monastery, Pope Venerates Miracle-Working Icon of Virgin,
Saint's Relics, Pays Respects to Royal Grave
Pontiff Delivers Fraction
of Pope John XXIII's
Relics
Sofia, May 25 (BTA)
Visiting the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite Catholic Cathedral of the Dormition
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in downtown Sofia, Pope John Paul
II delivered a segment of the relics of Pope John XXIII on Saturday.
This is a gift for a church which will be dedicated to
Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who was apostolic visitator to
Bulgaria between 1923 and 1934, before becoming Pope John XXIII
in 1958.
"Let his relics, which I have brought to you from Rome as a
gift, be venerated in the new church which will be dedicated to
him," the visiting Pontiff said. In his brief address he
remembered the "Bulgarian pope" who "prayed in this cathedral,
and who spared no effort for the revival of the Catholic Church
of the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Bulgaria."
The Pope was welcomed with shouts of "Dear Father, we are
with you!" and the sound of tolling bells. The yard of the
cathedral was fully packed. Apostolic Exarch of Sofia Hristo
Proikov was there to welcome the guest.
Before entering the church, the Pope consecrated a bell and
a stone which will be used at two Bulgarian churches. The stone
had been brought from the premises of Pope John XXIII in Italy.
Inside the cathedral, John Paul II crowned the icon of Our
Lady of Czestochowa.
Also on Saturday, the Pope visited the St Joseph Church (of
the Latin Rite Catholic diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv) in the
capital. He read in Bulgarian the opening and closing parts of
his address to Catholics in Sofia. The Pontiff quoted God's
message to the Israelites. When the ceremony was over, the crowd
saw him off with the Lord's Prayer.
"Lord of Peace [. . .] may He make you perfect in all good
works," the Pope said in the introductory part of his address.
He wished that his message might spread from this church to
reach all devout Catholics of the Latin Rite across Bulgaria.
John Paul II also consecrated a bronze statue of Pope John
XXIII and two stones which are to be built into new Catholic
churches in Sofia and Kaloyanovo.
While the Pope was leaving the place, a member of his
entourage threw a pearl rosary in the direction of those who had
gathered to greet the Holy Father. This is a traditional papal
gift to worshippers.
Earlier in the day the Pope met with members of the
Evangelical churches in Bulgaria.
In a special letter to the Pope, made available to BTA, the
Evangelical churches write that they highly appreciate his
current visit and describe it as "an encouragement not only for
the Catholic Church in Bulgaria, but also for all other
Christian communities." The letter is signed by Bedros
Altounian, who chairs the United Evangelical Churches
organization.
The Evangelical churches, as well as the Catholic Church and
the other churches in Bulgaria, went through a difficult period
in the years of Communist rule, the authors write.
"Our priests were tortured, our churches closed, and true
Christians persecuted. The atheistic authorities presumed they
could destroy the Church. We are a happy generation because we
saw that it is God Who rules!"
The Evangelical churches thank the Pope for having had the
courage to support the Polish people in its struggle for freedom
and to be its leader in crucial moments.
They also thank the Pontiff for extolling the legacy of
Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Slav alphabet. "We believe
that your admiration for their legacy will help our society to
reassess it as a manifestation of Bulgarian spirituality," the
letter reads.
Chief Mufti: Period Marked by Pope's Lifework
Will Go Down in History
as Watershed
Sofia, May 25 (BTA)
Pope John Paul II greeted with 'Selam'
the spiritual leaders of the Muslims in Bulgaria, with whom he
met Saturday, Chief Mufti Selim Mehmed told journalists after
the meeting. The Chief Mufti said he was very excited and
surprised by the Pope's cordial welcome. Mehmed assured the Pope
of his support for his effort in the fight against terrorism,
violence and war.
"I promised him that we will pray to Allah for his good
health and long life as we believe the world needs him because
he speaks for peace, for the poor and the deprived," said the
Chief Mufti.
The Pope inquired about the number of Muslims in Bulgaria
and how they live. "I said we don't have religious problems,"
said Mehmed.
The Chief Mufti and representatives of the Muslim community
in Bulgaria presented the Pope with a wooden carving of the
first sura of the Koran with which each Muslim prayer starts and
ends. Pope John Paul gave them as a gift medals with his image
on one side and that of Sts Cyril and Methodius on the other.
"We, the Bulgarian Muslims, assess highly the visit by His
Holiness Pope John Paul II in Bulgaria. As Bulgarian residents
we are grateful that the shameful attempt at the Holy Father's
life will no longer be linked to our country," reads a statement
by Chief Mufti Selim Mehmed in connection with his meeting with
Pope John Paul II, which was offered to BTA.
The Chief Mufti says that the period marked by the lifework
of Pope John Paul II will be remembered as a watershed for
humanity. "He succeeded in leading a personal peace march by
visiting more than 130 countries and communicating with their
peoples and faiths," says Mehmed. "Through prayer and love he
did more for mankind than the countless victims of wars and
religious frauds," he adds.
"We all know and remember the times when atrocities were
committed in the name of religion - the lessons are bitter, the
losses irreparable, and even now these shadows of darkness
occupy and trouble our minds" reads the statement.
'We the believers, have to and are obliged to give peace a
chance," says the Chief Mufti. Pope John Paul, as a fighter for
world peace, showed that religious differences are an advantage,
love for man is a virtue which has no monopoly, and each true
believer calls on the Almighty God for wisdom and atonement."
Mehmed recalls that Allah Almighty commands justice and
beneficence and forbids evil deeds, oppression and terror.
"Now we must highlight what is best in our religious
practice and use it in protection of human values and the most
cherished virtues of Faith," says the Chief Mufti.
He hails the Pope as a deep believer and admires him for his
lifework of leading a new march - of peace, brotherly love and
dialogue between religions for the well-being of the peoples.
 On Pilgrimage to Rila Monastery, Pope
Venerates Miracle-Working Icon of Virgin,
Saint's Relics, Pays Respects to Royal Grave
Rila Monastery, Southwestern Bulgaria, May 25 (BTA)
Pope John
Paul II made a pilgrimage to the Rila Monastery (Southwestern
Bulgaria) Saturday morning. He flew by helicopter from Sofia to
a meadow near the cloister and was driven to the sanctuary by
car. Upon arrival at the Monastery, he was welcomed by the
Hegumen, Bishop Ioan of Dragovitia, and by Bulgarian Prime
Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was here together with
his wife, two sons with their wives and children.
The arrival of the Pope was announced by ringing of the church
bells.
At the Monastery Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Pope
venerated a miracle-working icon of the Virgin, in which
particles of the relics of 32 saints are imbedded. The Holy
Father lit two candles in front of the icon, as is the Eastern
Orthodox ritual practice.
"You bring us the blessing of the two first principal apsotles,
Peter and Paul, and of the numberless martyrs who laid their
life for Christ and for the Holy Gospel," Bishop Ioan said,
addressing the guest.
He thanked the Holy Father that, during his brief stay in
Bulgaria, he vouchsafed to visit the holiest Bulgarian shrine,
Rila Monastery, "a little corner in the ancient garden of the
Theotokos, who is the patron of this cloister."
The Hegumen said that the Rila Monastery was a "granite pillar
of the Orthodox faith, piety, culture, education and aspiration
to freedom during the stormy history of the Bulgarian people.
This is why the paths to this national sanctuary have never been
overgrown with weeds."
"The walls of division between the two Christian churches do not
reach up to the skies. Like any man's work, they are transient.
Humans have built them up, and humans will pull them down,"
Bishop Ioan said.
He wished the Holy Father that the power and grace of St John of
Rila be with him abundantly and that he guide the flock
entrusted to him by Christ for many more years in good health
and spiritual strength.
The Hegumen presented the Pontiff with a lavishly illustrated
book on Rila Monastery.
The Head of the Roman Catholic Church was particularly pleased
to greet Bishop Ioan, who was sent by the late Patriarch Kiril
to attend the sessions of the Second Vatican Council
(1963-1965).
Speaking in Bulgarian, His Holiness addressed the metropolitans
and bishops and the monks and nuns of Bulgarian and of all the
Holy Orthodox Churches. He said he "wanted to make this
pilgrimage to Rila to venerate the relics of the holy monk John
and to express gratitude and affection to all of you. 'We give
thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in
our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of
faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). [Å] Eastern monasticism,
together with that of the West, constitutes a great gift for the
whole Church," the Pope said, adding that he was pleased today
"to acknowledge the authenticity of the path of sanctification
traced out in the writings and lives of so many of your monks,
who have offered eloquent examples of radical discipleship of
the Lord Jesus Christ."
"Many times I have emphasized that precious contribution that
you make to the ecclesial community through the example of your
lives," the Holy Father recalled. "In my Apostolic Letter
Orientale Lumen I wrote how I would like to 'look at the vast
panorama of Eastern Christianity from a specific vantage point
which affords a view of many of its features: monasticism.' I am
in fact convinced that the monastic experience constitutes the
heart of Christian life, so much so that it can be proposed as a
point of reference for all the baptized," the Pope said.
"Monastic life, in virtue of the uninterrupted tradition of
holiness on which it is based, preserves with love and fidelity
certain elements of Christian life that are important also for
modern men and women: monks and nuns are the Gospel memory for
Christians and the world."
The Pope praised the Blessed John of Rila, whom he arranged to
have depicted along which other holy men and women of East and
West in the mosaic of the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the
Apostolic Palace, for leaving "everything for the precious pearl
of the Gospel," and for placing himself "under the tutelage of
holy ascetics in order to learn the art of spiritual combat."
"Through the spiritual combat, Blessed John of Rila also lived
his 'submission' in the obedience and mutual service required by
life in common. [Å] Blessed John experienced, then, the
hermit's life in 'compunction' and pennance, but above all in
uninterrupted listening to the Word and in unceasing prayer, to
the point of becoming - as Saint Nilus says - a 'theologian',
that is, a man endowed with wisdom that is not of this world,
but comes from the Holy Spirit. John's testmanent, which he
wrote out of love for his disciples who wished to have his last
words, is an extraordinary teaching on the quest for and
experience of God for those desirous of leading and authentic
Christian and monastic life."
"More than ever in the lives of Christians today, idols are
seductive and temptations unrelenting; the art of spiritual
combat, the discernment of spirits, the sharing of one's
thoughts with one's spiritual director, the invocation of the
Holy Name of Jesus and of his mercy must once more become a part
of the inner life of the disciple of the Lord. This battle is
necessary in order not to be distracted or worried, and to live
in constant recollection with the Lord," the Holy Father said.
"How many witnesses of the path of holiness have shone brightly in
this Monastery of Rila during its many centuries of history, and in
so many other Orthodox monasteries! How great is the universal Church's
debt of gratitude to all the
ascetics who have kept in mind the 'one necessary thing', man's ultimate
destiny!" the Pope said.
"We gratefully admire the precious tradition that Eastern monks
and nuns live faithfully and continue to hand on from generation
to generation as an authenic sign of the eschaton, that future
to which God continues to call every person through the hidden
power of the Spirit. They are a sign, through their adoration of
the Most Holy Trinity in the liturgy, through their communion
in the agape, through the hope which in their intercession
encompasses every person and every creature, to the very
threshold of hell."
"All the Orthdoox Churches know how much the monasteries are a priceless
heritage of their faith and culture. What would Bulgaria be without
the Monastery of Rila, which in the darkest periods of your national
history kept the flame of faith burning? What would Greece be without
the Holy Mountain of Athos? Or Russia without that myriad
of dwelling places of the Holy Spirit which enabled it to overcome
the inferno of Soviet persecution? And so, the Bishop of Rome is here
today to tell you that the Latin Church also and the religious of
the West are grateful to you for your life and witness!" the Pontiff
said, concluding his address.
He blessed the monks and nuns and wished them that God confirm
them in their faith and in their vocation, and make them
instruments of communion in His holy Church and witnesses of His
love in the world.
The Pope presented to the Monastery an icone of the Virgin, done
in the style of the Catholic tradition at the Vatican mosaics
school and depicting the Mother of God flanked by two angels,
one holding a cross and the other a lance, which symbolizes the
suffering of Christ.
The Pontiff venerated the relics of St John of Rila, who was
also canonized by the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Clement
III (1187-1191). Before leaving the church, the guest and the
cardinals said a short prayer over the grave of King Boris III
(Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's father), in the company of
Bishop Ioan and the Prime Minister.
 After
the official welcoming ceremony, John Paul II proceeded to the Icon
Hall for a 15-minute private meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They talked in Italian, according to the
Council of Ministers' Information Directorate. The PM told the guest
about his father's life and about the history of the Monastery. They
were later joined by the members of the PM's family. The Pope gave
each of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's grandchildren a mother-of-pearl rosary.
Talking to journalists after the meeting, the Prime Minister
described the Pope's statement Friday, in which he exonerated
Bulgaria from involvement in the 1981 assassination attempt
against him, as "historic and most important for Bulgaria."
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha recalled that for 20 years he has been trying
to contribute to such categorical declaration of this fact. The
PM said he had been "emotionally shattered" by the brief prayer
which the Pontiff said at his father's grave in the Monastery
Church.
The monastery and its surroundings were guarded by some 600
policemen. Several ambulances and fire trucks were also on
standby.
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