KAREKIN II AND CARDINAL TARCISIO BERTONE ISSUE JOINT COMMUNIQUE
ARMENPRESS
March 6, 2008
ETCHMIADZIN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS: 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
from the Pope to the Catholicos.
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.