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Pope's Mass Snubbed In Orthodox Georgia by Enapesunday(m): 3:37pm On Oct 01, 2016 |
Pope Francis has
celebrated Mass in a
sparsely attended
Tbilisi stadium in
predominately
Orthodox Georgia.
The Pope was
deserted by the
leadership of the
Georgian Orthodox
Church, in a
surprising snub to the
Vatican.
Barely 3,000 people braved
brilliant sunshine Saturday
on a beautiful autumn day
to attend a Mass held in the
former Soviet republic's
27,000-capacity sports arena
in a snub that highlights
ongoing divisions between
the Catholic and Georgian
Orthodox churches.
The snub was unexpected.
Pope Francis had received a
surprisingly warm welcome
from the Orthodox leader
upon his arrival Fridayfor
the three-day visit that also
includes a stop in Muslim-
majority Azerbaijan.
Patriarch Ilia welcomed
Francis as my "dear
brother" and toasted him
saying: "May the Lord bless
the Catholic Church of
Rome."
However, the Orthodox
leader and other senior
figures were nowhere to be
seen on Saturday.
Meanwhile, some hardline
Orthodox protesters
gathered in the city to
criticize the Papal visit.
Signs read: "The Vatican is a
spiritual aggressor," and
"Death of papism."
The Orthodox patriarchate,
though, had criticized the
protests, indicating
something of an
institutional shift that
compared to the frosty
reception by then-Pope John
Paul II's 1999 visit, which
the Orthodox Church
explicitly encouraged
Georgians to boycott.
The Georgian Orthodox
church is ultraconservative
and nationalistic and tied to
the Moscow Patriarchate,
which has strained, though
improving, relations with
the Holy See .
Hardline Orthodox Christian
protesters didn't exactly roll out
a red carpet for Pope Francis in
Tbilisi, Georgia. September 30,
2016.
Georgia has a miniscule 2.5-
percent Catholic minority in
the overwhelmingly
Orthodox Christian country.
It was to those Catholics
that Pope Francis seemed to
tailor his address.
"Little and beloved flock of
Georgia, who are so
committed to works of
charity and education,
receive the encouragement
of the Good Shepherd, trust
in the One who takes you on
his shoulders and consoles
you," Francis said in a
homily.
But some Orthodox
Christians did turn up to
hear the Pope's
message. "I'm Orthodox,
this is a Catholic Mass, but
we are all Christians," Nata
Koridze, a 40-year-old
woman, told the DPA news
agency.
Francis' Saturday itinerary
includes a meeting with
Georgia's Catholic clergy, a
visit a hospital for the poor
run by Catholic
missionaries and a
cathedral in Mtsketa, 22
kilometers (14 miles)
northwest of the capital city
and considered the spiritual
center of the Georgian
Orthodox Church.
His three-day visit will next
move on to Muslim-
majority Azerbaijan. That
country is locked in a bitter
and bloody conflict with
Armenia over the
breakaway province of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which
Francis visited in June.
jar/rc (AP, dpa) |
Re: Pope's Mass Snubbed In Orthodox Georgia by Opharhe: 3:54pm On Oct 01, 2016 |
Lord Jesus, gather your flock in Unity. Amen. |
Re: Pope's Mass Snubbed In Orthodox Georgia by Pilate2016(m): 4:12pm On Oct 01, 2016 |
Father may we be one. |
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