Over the last few years, the relations between Bulgaria and the Church, and in particular the Holy See, have made remarkable progress. Especially after the Pope’s visit in May 2002″. It was said by the apostolic nuncio to Bulgaria, mgr. Giuseppe Leanza, at the end of the conference on “The Balkans, the crossroad of Europe. The role of the Catholic Church”, held by Fabrizio Mastrofini, editor at Sedoc (Documentation service communication) and Ctv (Vatican Television Centre), at the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia. “We are trying to move on in the Pope’s footsteps – went on mgr. Leanza -: a new institutional relation with the government and new ecumenical relations with the Orthodox Church”. “The Catholic Church – stated the ambassador, Milan Milanov, director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – plays a positive role in diplomatic relations: we always recall the presence in Bulgaria of Giuseppe Roncalli, John Paul II and the role played by Benedict XVI in the development of human and religious rights”. “In Sofia – he recalled – we have the Catholic Cathedral, the Synagogue and the Mosque all within a short distance of each other, which is the symbol of this positive spirit that Bulgaria wants to have towards religion”.
