23.05.2022
Corruption is a disease and young politicians are the ones who must eradicate it. This what Pope Francis said to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.
At the tête-à-tête audience, the Bulgarian Prime Minister was congratulated by the Pope of the Catholic Church on the Bulgarian cabinet’s effort to combat corruption. Kiril Petkov was given advice: “If at the same time we fight against the most corrupt individuals in Bulgaria and against hostile forces from foreign states, it would be very difficult to wage the two fights. We must try to wage the fight step by step rather than in all directions.”
Kiril Petkov stressed for the Supreme Pontiff that Bulgaria highly appreciates the role of the Holy See and of the Papacy in the protection of human life and dignity, peace and stability, statehood and the universal values and humanism that are underlying moral and real bricks for sustainable development for the sake of people and the future of our planet, the one that we would like it to be. We share common moral values that are based on faith, humanism, justice and mercy, said the Bulgarian Prime Minister. Further, he stressed that the fraternity and bridges that the Holy Father builds for contacts between Christians and Muslims is a cause that is equally embraced by the Bulgarians who for centuries have been coexisting in peace despite the different religions that they profess.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was also received by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See.
The Prime Minister assured him that Bulgaria highly appreciates the willingness to maintain cooperation with homolog Bulgarian institutions as demonstrated in recent years by some of the major papal educational and research institutions, among them the Pontifical Lateran University, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Oriental Institute, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Secret Archives.
Before the close of his visit to the Vatican, the Prime Minister and his delegation laid a wreath at the altar of St. Pope John Paull II in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Bulgarian Prime Minister paid homage to Pope John Paul II who on 31 December 1980 declared the Saintly Brothers Cyril and Methodius Co-patrons of Europe. Following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the Holy See in 1991, it has become a tradition for official delegations to arrive to mark 24 May. The visit of Pope John Paul II to Bulgaria was of tremendous importance for the country as it closed the file on the “Bulgarian connection” in the attempt on the Pope’s life. Pope John Paul II assured President Georgi Parvanov that he had never believed that Bulgaria was involved in the attempted assassination in 1981. After the visit of the Bishop of Rome during which Bulgaria was in the focus of the world community’s interest, the reputation of the country was restored.
