Pope urges East European countries to protect Christian cultures

Published: 2005-05-23

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The countries of Eastern Europe can help the entire continent by ensuring their Christian cultures are not watered down as they move toward greater unity with the rest of Europe, said Pope Benedict XVI. The pope met separately May 23 with the president of Bulgaria, the prime minister of Macedonia and Catholic-Orthodox delegations from both countries. The delegations were in Rome to visit the tomb of St. Cyril, who with his brother, St. Methodius, took Christianity to the Slavic peoples. The Orthodox mark the brothers' feast day May 24. The pope told Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov that the brothers' impact on his nation made an unbreakable link between Bulgaria's culture and Christianity, a link Bulgaria must keep strong as it acts as a "bridge between the West and East."

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