Vatican City, May 22, 2010 / 07:38 am
Speaking to delegations from Eastern European countries in Rome in memory of the evangelizing saints of the Slavic peoples, the Holy Father observed the deep-rooted Christian tradition in the area. All Christians, he said, have the duty to maintain the link between the Word of God and their cultural identity.
The Holy Father met with civil and religious leaders from the ex-Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria separately on Saturday morning to mark the liturgical memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Heads of state and Church, top ministers and cultural representatives formed the countries' delegations.
Remembering how the saintly brothers left a lasting imprint of Christianity “in the soul” of Bulgarians, the Holy Father noted that the population is still “anchored to those evangelical values, that always strengthen the identity and enrich the culture of a nation.”
He explained that the Gospel never serves to weaken what is "authentic" in a cultural tradition, but, rather, through the light of faith, "gives man the capacity to recognize the true good and helps him to realize it in his own life and in the social context."