PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: +374-10-517163
Fax: +374-10-517301
E-Mail: ktrij@etchmiadzin.am
Website:
March 6, 2008

Joint Communiqué
Released on the Occasion of the Meeting of
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
and
His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
04 March 2008

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
and His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy
See, came together in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin with a holy
greeting of peace and offered their fervent prayers to Almighty God in
heaven.

The State Secretary, Cardinal Bertone, conveyed the warmest greetings of
unity in Jesus Christ and the fraternal love of His Holiness Benedict XVI,
the Pope of Rome, to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.
Cardinal Bertone also presented a handwritten letter to the Catholicos from
the Pope with his invitation to visit the See of St. Peter.

His Holiness and His Eminence offered their gratitude to God for this
cordial meeting – a sign of the continuing development of ties between the
Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church – to know one another
better, to appreciate each other’s incomparable spiritual heritage, and to
love one another, confirming their equal calling to serve mankind as is
required by our one Lord Jesus Christ. They agreed to continue taking steps
on these blessed paths.

The Catholicos and the Cardinal appealed to God during these difficult days
for Armenia, so that peace and reconciliation be established within the
country. They prayed together for the souls of the victims and asked the
Lord to keep and protect the Armenian people and reinforce them with faith,
hope and love.

The Cardinal expressed the complete support of the Catholic Church to the
Armenian Church, for her efforts utilizing her high moral standing, aimed at
providing solutions to all concerns through the promotion of dialogue and
peaceful means and fostering a common sense of responsibility, so that the
dignity of the Armenian people and state remain unharmed within
international society.

His Holiness and His Eminence jointly entreated the Most High to make
statesmen and politicians realize that politics is also a spiritual calling,
which demands honesty, mutual respect, love, tolerance and defense of the
rights of the poor and vulnerable.

May God bless Armenia and all Armenians – the first Christian people in the
world – so that all of Christendom can continue to enjoy their exceptional
and irreplaceable contributions.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress