Pope to Meet with Romanian, Pakistani Leaders

On September 30, Pope John Paul II will return to the Vatican after spending his summer at Castel Gandalfo. On this day, he will meet with Romanian president Ion Iliescu and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.

According to Catholic World News:

The Pope's talks with the Romanian leader will likely focus on the tense relations between Eastern-rite Romanian Catholics, who make up 5 percent of the population, and the Romanian Orthodox majority. The Roman Catholic Church, having suffered brutal persecution under the Communist regime, is still seeking to regain control of church properties that were confiscated and handed over to the Orthodox.

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