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Published by
Zenit.org,
November 19, 2004
Pope Praises Moscow's New
Ecumenical Center
Cardinal Poupard Attends Inauguration and
Meets with Patriarch Alexy II |
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MOSCOW, NOV. 19, 2004 (Zenit.org).- On the eve of
the inauguration of Moscow's Cultural Center of
the Library of the Spirit, John Paul II praised
the ecumenical initiative "oriented to the spread
of the Gospel."
Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical
Council for Culture, attended the inauguration as
a part of his weeklong visit to Moscow that ends
Sunday.
The cardinal is touring Europe to promote the
recognition of the Christian roots that provide
the cultural heritage of the continent.
He and Father Bernard Ardura, secretary of the
pontifical council, met today with Russian
Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II at the headquarters of
the Moscow patriarchate.
On Thursday, the cardinal and the priest met with
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, chairman of the
Department for External Church Relations of the
Moscow Patriarchate.
"At these meetings issues were discussed that
create difficulties between the Russian Orthodox
and the Roman Catholic Churches, as well as the
prospects for collaboration between the Churches
in the field of culture, especially in face of
secularism, indifference to religion, and the
activity of alternative new religious movements,"
the Pontifical Council for Culture said in a
statement.
Moreover, both sides "have manifested intense
interest in a European meeting oriented to
appraise the Christian roots of Europe, from the
Atlantic to the Urals," the Vatican dicastery
said.
It was in this context that Cardinal Poupard and
Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk presided this
morning at the inauguration of the headquarters of
the Library of the Spirit, a cultural center where
Catholics and Orthodox work to spread Christian
thought.
The cardinal delivered a telegram from the Pope in
which he "expresses his heartfelt appreciation for
the diligent initiative oriented to the diffusion
of the Gospel and the teachings of the apostolic
tradition through appropriate cultural initiatives
dedicated to making conscious the high value of
the Christian message."
The Holy Father also expressed the hope that such
a manifestation will contribute to "consolidate
the common ecumenical commitment of the disciples
of the divine teacher."
Alexy II, in a letter to director Jean-Franηois
Thiery, also expressed his appreciation for the
new center and his hope for development of the
collaboration between the center and the Synodal
Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox
Church, presided over by Metropolitan Philaret.
Also attending the inauguration were Archbishop
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, president of the Catholic
bishops' conference of Russia; Alexander Sokolov,
Russia's minister of culture; and Mikhail Men,
vice mayor of Moscow.
The Library of the Spirit, founded in 1993 with
the collaboration of the Italian foundation
Christian Russia, the Catholic diocese of Moscow,
and the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Orthodox
Foundation of Minsk, seeks to integrate Western
and Eastern European culture and to rediscover its
common Christian roots, in view of a new
civilization of peace.
Its activity has an ecumenical dimension, and
creates conditions for cultural and pastoral
exchanges among different confessions.
The new center was funded by a number of Russian
and foreign entities. The building is located on
Pokrovka Street, a focal point for Christian
publishers in Russia. It publishes and distributes
books even in the most remote regions of the
Russian territory, and promotes numerous cultural
initiatives.
Cardinal Poupard met with the Catholic priests and
community in Moscow on Thursday, and will
celebrate this Sunday's Mass, solemnity of Christ
the King, in Moscow's Cathedral of the Mother of
God, together with Archbishop Kondrusiewicz and
Archbishop Antonio Mennini, papal representative
to Russia.
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