Vatican City, Apr 24, 2008 / 08:25 am
Pope Benedict XVI met today with the bishops from the central Caucus region in an “ad limina” visit. He told the bishops that the Church in the Caucusus to must continue to face "with courage the social and cultural challenges" that have evolved since the fall of Communism.
“Peace to you. I greet you with the same greeting of the risen Christ to the disciples gathered in the Cenacle, you whom he has made head of the people of God in this region. I am pleased to meet with all of you, after having met individually with each of you,” the Pope said.
He also extended his "personal greeting" to priests, religious, the faithful, those of other Christian confessions and other faiths.
The Caucusus, he said, are the crossroads of east and west, and as such, are a cradle of civilization.
Addressing the general situation of the people in the region, Pope Benedict said that while advances in social progress have been made following the fall of the Soviet Union, poverty, unemployment and regional strife have left many homeless and at the mercy of other forces.