AHEPA
Applauds Papal Visit to Ecumenical Patriarchate
Historic
visit is vital to Orthodox Christians Washington,
D.C. - Statement by AHEPA
Supreme President Gus J. James, II, about the meeting of His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Pope Benedict XVI on November 29
and 30, 2006:
"As
an organization that has historically supported the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and its mission, we welcome the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to
the Holy See of Orthodox Christians worldwide. We view the
meeting
of Pope Benedict with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as historic and as
a 'next step' toward efforts to further develop Orthodox-Catholic
relations.
“Equally
important is the Pope's visit to Turkey because it will place important
emphasis on freedom and equality for all Religions in Turkey, which is
crucial for Turkey’s path to the European Union. This is a
direction
we support based upon Turkey fulfilling all the necessary criteria as
outlined by the European Union.
“Furthermore,
we applaud the statement issued jointly by the Patriarch and the Pope and
reported by Agence
France-Presse that ‘religious freedom must be a criterion for membership
in the EU, which must ensure
that
its members respect the rights of their religious minorities.’”
Annually,
the international president of AHEPA leads a large delegation of Americans
of Hellenic descent to Turkey to visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate and
offer the Patriarch support. The next trip is
scheduled
for May 2007.
The
mission of the AHEPA family is to promote the ideals of Hellenism,
education, philanthropy, civic responsibility and family and individual
excellence.
The
AHEPA family consists of four organizations: AHEPA, Daughters of Penelope,
Sons of Pericles and Maids of Athena.
For
more information about the AHEPA family, or how to join, please contact
AHEPA Headquarters, 202.232.6300,
or visit www.ahepa.org.
