Catholic World News, MA
Nov 18 2004

Pope greets Azeri delegation

Vatican, Nov. 18 (CWNews.com) – Pope John Paul II (bio – news) met on
November 18 with a delegation of religious leaders from Azerbaidjan,
and urged them to work for peace in Nagorni-Karabakh– a border
region contested by Azerbaidjan and Armenia.

The Pope told his visitors that Christians, Jews, and Muslims should
unite to end “the murderous violence” all over the world. He
mentioned specifically his hope “that peace returns to Azerbaijan,
and that the conflict in Nagorni-Karabakh is soon resolved.”

John Paul II reminded the religious leaders– representing the
Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities– of his own trip to
Azerbaidjan in 2002. He praised the Muslim majority of the former
Soviet republic– who constitute 98 percent of the population– for
their open attitude toward other faiths. And he sent his
“affectionate greetings” to the country’s tiny Catholic community,
comprised of only about 300 people.