“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”: that is the motto chosen by Benedict XVI for the fourth meeting of the Catholic youth of Russia which was held in the region of Moscow at the end of July, in the year dedicated by the Church to the Bible. There were over 300 participants; they came from the four Catholic dioceses of the country and also from the German diocese of Osnabruck. The speakers at the meeting included Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow, the apostolic nuncio Antonio Mennini, Bishop Clemens Pickel, and priests and religious of various parishes. “We must bring the light of Christ to everyone”, said Archbishop Kondrusiewicz on inaugurating the meeting and recalling the previous such event, held in Irkutsk in 2004. He also paid tribute to the founder of Youth Days, John Paul II, and to his successor Benedict XVI, who participated in last year’s World Youth Day in Cologne. The themes treated during the meeting included the position of the Catholic Church, the relations between Catholics and Orthodox, evangelization, and the role of women in the Church today.
