BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/06/2008

Cardinal Bertone Notes Highlights of Belarus Trip

Affirms Relations With Orthodox Are Positive

MINSK, Belarus, JUNE 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's secretary of state summed up the highlights of his trip to Belarus, emphasizing three "positive and constructive" meetings: with Catholics, with Orthodox and with the nation's president.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone gave this summary during a press conference Sunday, the last day of his five-day trip to Belarus, according to the media director of the Belarusian bishops' conference.

The Holy Father's secretary of state arrived in the former Soviet nation on Wednesday. He met with President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Friday.

On Saturday, the cardinal had two key events: the blessing of a cornerstone for a new church, and a meeting with youth.

At the blessing ceremony Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk-Mohilev thanked the cardinal for his participation. He said it was a joyful occasion for for Catholics of Minsk since "they had to wait a whole century to witness the event of the construction of a new Catholic church."

Later that day, the Vatican official met with youth. He encouraged them to "swim against the current" so as to give testimony of their faith, L'Osservatore Romano reported.

It is necessary to announce the Gospel "with a humble but decided style of life, attentive to the others and prompt to serve, sincere and respectful, nonviolent, constructive, capable of denying one's own interests to make the good triumph, courageous in giving testimony in the name of God, of his true face, defending him from false images," he said.

"Jesus didn't speak as a functionary, as one who preaches out of custom or because of his office," Cardinal Bertone added. "He preached with authority; in his words the presence of God, the strength of the truth, was notable."

Believing in love

The cardinal invited youth not to be content with a faith "made only of words, a formal religion," but rather to go the essential, to "a love believed in and practiced." And he encouraged them to consider their vocations to matrimony or to the consecrated life.

The youth gave Cardinal Bertone a letter in which they promised the Pope "to courageously profess the Christian faith, adequately and tirelessly bringing the light of Christ to their environment with pleasure and joy just as King David did, and with firmness of the Apostle Paul," the bishops' media office reported.

The letter also included an invitation to the Pope: "The faith in our beloved Belarus is entering a new century; on this land we build a place for Christ. We are very glad that we are not alone, as we are being supported by our sincere friends and instructors -- bishops, priests, nuns and all the clergy. [...] That's why it is not difficult to guess that the only thing we are missing is your presence."

The cardinal spoke at the next day's press conference regarding a possible visit of Benedict XVI to Belarus.

"Due to the considerable quantity of invitations from Europe, Africa and Asia, the Pope plans a chain of visits for the future," the secretary of state confirmed. "It is easier to foresee visits to European, rather than intercontinental, countries.

"Belarus is a country very deeply loved by the Pontiff. [...] My own visit was something like the visit of John the Baptist, which has paved the way for further activities. I will promote the carrying out of this visit. Certainly, I can't define the exact date of its realization, but we hope it will be soon enough."

The cardinal noted that the Holy Father's usual response to invitations is, "If God gives me health, I shall make it." And, the cardinal added that the Pope often jokes: "Please, bear in mind that John Paul II was elected when he was 58 years old, and I was chosen when I was 79."

Cardinal Bertone revisited the theme of relations with the Orthodox before he left the nation. At Sunday's press conference, he said: "In my opinion, the relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Belarus are very positive. Contacts between them are frequent and cooperation is developing to face such current challenges as secularism."

The Vatican official noted that ecumenical relationships are a priority for the Catholic Church, as shown by the pontificates of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He recalled the German Pontiff's address upon his election to the See of Peter, in which he "marked out priority issues, among which was the task of increasing brotherly cooperation between Christian faiths."

Source:

http://www.zenit.org/article-23002?l=english

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