Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct 3, 2016 / 15:05 pm
The tiny community of the Catholic Church in Georgia was barely surviving just decades ago.
Now it has an opportunity to regenerate itself following Pope Francis' model of the "Church of consolation," the local Catholic bishop has said.
"During his Mass, Pope Francis did not speak of a strong and powerful Church, but rather of a Church able to give consolation. And I thought: this is the Church I like, a Church that has openings and does not get used to things," Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto explained.
Bishop Pasotto is an Italian religious of the Stigmatine congregation. He moved to Georgia in 1993, was appointed apostolic administrator of the Caucasus region in 1996.
"The path of our Christian community was beautiful and exciting. We started from zero," he told CNA.
"Back in 1993, there were Christian communities, but we had to teach them Mass again, as they were only used to praying the Rosary. So, we drafted the Missal and prepared new catechesis. We had a wonderful feedback."
He then stressed that "perhaps Catholics in Georgia are less enthusiastic, but this is normal. It is just like a plane: it takes off quickly, but then it has to keep the route. I am not worried."
Bishop Pasotto keeps this optimistic view also for what concern ecumenical relations, despite the tensions experienced between Catholics and Orthodox Christians during the last years.
The Pope's visit to Georgia included meetings with Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Illa II.
Bishop Pasotto recounted: "After the Pope left, I asked Patriarch Ilia if he was really happy about the visit. Patriarch Ilia replied: 'I am very happy the Pope came here. I met a good man.' The Pope told me the same thing about Ilia Saturday, while we were together in the car: 'Do you know that this Patriarch is really a good man?' Both of them used the same words, by chance, with no knowledge of what the other said."
Certainly, the Church of Georgia faces some hard situations, and further theological discussion is needed.