_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Bulgaria_______________
Papal visit discussed
A possibility for 2002
A trip by Pope John Paul II to Bulgaria for 2002 is being studied in the Vatican. The president of the Bulgarian episcopal conference, and apostolic exarch for Catholics of the Byzantine-Slavic rite, Bishop Christo Proykov, confirmed this possibility with the Rome-based news agency I Media, stressing the importance of a pontifical visit to a country with an Orthodox majority. It would be the Pope’s fifth trip to an Orthodox country, after Romania and his upcoming trips to Ukraine, Georgia, and Greece.
“The synod of Patriarch Maxim, primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, agreed to receive the Pope,” Bishop Proykov said, cautioning, however, that the Orthodox will be carefully watching the results of the Pope’s trip to Greece. The Catholic bishops of Bulgaria have already issued three invitations to John Paul. And an invitation was also made twice by the president of the Bulgarian Republic, Petar Stoyanov.
The relations between Catholics and Orthodox in Bulgaria “improve little by little,” said Bishop Proykov, stressing that “just a few months ago, a visit by the Pope was unthinkable.”