Papal meeting with Bulgarian president: birth dearth, culture, care for elderly
May 24, 2024
» Continue to this story on Bulgarian News Agency
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis received President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria in a May 23 audience.
“The Pope is aware of our problems,” said Radev, referring perhaps in part to the nation’s declining population. “He wished that we had more children —in the context of the general aging of the population across Europe.”
The Pope said that children “should be raised to know and respect their nation’s history, literature, language and culture,” according to the Bulgarian News Agency, with Radev adding, “The Pope urged us to take better care of our elderly people, because they deserve respect.”
The Pope and Radev also discussed the need for peace in Ukraine and Gaza.
Bulgaria, a Southeast European nation of 6.8 million (map), is 83% Christian (79% Orthodox) and 14% Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2019.
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