Pope urges bishops of Caucasus to witness to Christ through charity

Published: 2008-04-24

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI asked the four bishops of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to teach their faithful to witness to Christ's love through their acts of charity. Meeting the bishops April 24 at the end of their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican, the pope said Christian charity cannot have any ulterior motives; it is not a subtle way for the tiny Catholic minority to win converts. "The exercise of charity cannot be a means in the service of proselytism because love is free," he told the bishops, who are required to visit the Vatican every five years to report on the status of their dioceses. The Catholic population in each of the three countries in the Caucasus region is extremely small. In Azerbaijan about 93 percent of the population is Muslim; in Armenia about 90 percent of the people belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church; and in Georgia almost 84 percent of the population is Orthodox, while about 10 percent is Muslim.

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