VATICAN CORNER
Over the weekend, Sept. 30 – October 2, 2016 Pope Francis made his 16th trip as Pope, visiting his 23rd and 24th countries: Georgia and Azerbaija two former Soviet republics located between the Black & Caspian Seas, south of Russia, north of Turkey, Armenia, & Iran. In Georgia less than 1% of the people are Catholic, with 84% Eastern Orthodox and 10 % Muslims. In Azerbaijan, only 0.01% are Catholics, with 96% Muslim (63% Shi’a & 33% Sunni). The total number of Catholics in Azerbaijan is only about 300. It was suggested that it might have been cheaper to fly every Catholic in Azerbaija to Rome, rather than the Pope flying to them. So what were the reasons for this trip? There were at least 4 reasons. Reason one was to continue Pope Francis’ message of peace, solidarity and reconciliation for the region that he began last June when he visited neighboring Armenia. Azerbaijan has a long standing dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh province, where just last April 70 soldiers were killed. Georgia, on the other hand, is constantly at odds with Russia, having 300,000 people displaced as a result of the Russian occupation of the Abkhazia and South Ossetia areas from the war in 2008. Pope Francis met with government authorities and religious leaders and spoke of peace and brotherhood, and for all sides to “resist being caught up in the illusory power of vengeance.” He also met with Syro-Chaldean Catholics and prayed for peace in the Middle East where that rite is rooted. Reason two, the trip was for the purpose of continuing to grow the friendship with the Christian Eastern Orthodox Church. That friendship was started by St. Pope John Paul II who had a vision of reconciliation between the East and Western Churches so that, as he put it, Europe could breathe with both lungs again. Pope Francis held Mass in a Georgian stadium and a delegation from the Orthodox Patriarchate attended the Mass. The celebration was however marred due to some radical Orthodox priests protested the Pope’s visit, claiming that it was an affront to the purity of the Georgian Orthodox faith and an insult to the Georgian people. They expressed the fear that the visit was an attempt to covert the Orthodox followers to Catholicism. Reason three for the Pope’s trip was to meet with the Grand Mufi of the Caucasus region, one of the most influential Muslims in the world. They took part in an interfaith encounter with an Orthodox bishop and the president of the local Jewish community. Reason four was to strengthen the tiny Catholic community in Azerbaijan run by the Salesian order. After Soviet rule, in 2002, Catholicism was officially recognized following Pope John Paul II visit. St. Mary’s Catholic Church had been destroyed by the communist authorities in the 1930s and was rebuilt. Pope Francis was able to hold Mass in the nine year old church and told the small group of 800 people “You are a little flock that is so precious in God’s eyes.” Later Pope Francis explained why he went to Azerbaijan where there are so few Catholics. He said that like other peripheral countries he has visited, reality can be understood better and seen better from the peripheries rather than from the center.
Sources: Cruxnow.com, news.va,washingtonpost.com, rferl.org