Orthodox cool to papal visit
Catholic prelate fears an unfriendly reception

Pope John Paul II may visit Athens in 2001, but the prospects for such a trip are clouded by the difficulties in Catholic-Orthodox relations.

Archbishop Nikolaos Foscolos of Athens, the Catholic leader in a predominantly Greek Orthodox society, told the Roman press agency I Media that “conditions are difficult” as the result of tensions that have grown over the past 10 years. Archbishop Foscolos said that the Greek Orthodox community has become noticeably less friendly toward Rome since the collapse of Communism. He expressed fears that if the Pope did come to Greece, he would not have a friendly public reception.

Pope John Paul has indicated his desire to stop for a day in Athens after visiting Syria, retracing the route taken by St. Paul, as part of his overall scheme to make pilgrimages to the most important sites tied to the history of salvation. Several months ago the papal nuncio in Greece had approached the Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, asking whether the Pope might receive an invitation to visit Greece. That request was passed along to a committee of the Greek Orthodox Church, which had not issued a public response at the time of this writing.

Archbishop Foscolos made it clear that the Catholics of Greece—who comprise only a tiny minority of about 60,000 people in the land of 10.5 million—would be happy to have a papal visit. He added that some Orthodox leaders, including Archbishop Christodoulos, also would welcome a visit, as would the government. However, all parties want to be sure that the papal trip would take place under proper conditions, he said.

Back to Catholic World Report January 2001 Table of Contents

Back to Catholic Infromation Center's Periodical Page