BUCHAREST - Romania's mainstream Orthodox Church said yesterday a proposed visit by Pope John Paul would first require progress in set fling a long standing dispute with minority Greek Catholics.
"We don't oppose a visit by His Holiness the Pope. But for this visit to take place, we need peace and reconciliation with the Greek Catholic Church," Mr Liviu Stoina, adviser to the Orthodox Patriarch's office, said. "We have repeatedly called for reconciliation with the Greek Catholic Church. But the reaction of our Greek Catholic brothers has been discouraging for us."
The Romanian Foreign Minister, Mr Adrian Severin, who arrived in Italy for a visit on Tuesday, said he would deliver an invitation to the Pope to make the first papal visit to Romania. He said leaders of the Orthodox Church, which claims the allegiance of 86 per cent of Romania's 22 million people, had dropped their objections to such a visit.