SOFIA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Pope Francis urged Bulgarians to open
their hearts and doors to refugees as he began a visit to the European
Union’s poorest country, where the main Orthodox Church snubbed holding joint prayers with the pontiff.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met Francis at the airport, welcoming him
with a large pot of kiselo mlyako, a mildly sour-tasting local yoghurt,
saying: “This is your grandmother’s yoghurt.”
“The first time I heard the word yoghurt was from my grandmother,” the
pope replied.
Pope Francis’s three-day tour, which also takes in North Macedonia,
includes a visit to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Sofia and a
commemoration of Mother Teresa, the most famous native of the Macedonian capital Skopje.
The Pope evoked a “new winter” plaguing Bulgaria and other European
nations who face an an exodus of their people as well as falling birth rates,
in his first address to Bulgarian officials.
The population has fallen to seven million against nine million in 1989,
the year communism ended in Bulgaria, and is projected to plunge to 5.4
million in 2050.
“Bulgaria faces the effects of the emigration in recent decades of over
two million of her citizens in search of new opportunities for employment,”
he said.
This has “led to the depopulation and abandonment of many villages and
cities,” he added.
He also touched on the plight of migrants and refugees flocking to the
country.
“Bulgaria confronts the phenomenon of those seeking to cross its borders
in order to flee wars, conflicts or dire poverty, in the attempt to reach the
wealthiest areas of Europe, there to find new opportunities in life or simply
a safe refuge,” the pope said.
To all Bulgarians, who are familiar with the drama of emigration, I
respectfully suggest that you not close your eyes, your hearts or your hands
— in accordance with your best tradition — to those who knock at your
door,” he said.
The Argentine pontiff’s visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia comes
after the leaders of both countries extended an invitation to him following a
traditional annual visit to the tomb of St Cyril in Rome.
In April 2018, the Council of Europe voiced concern about Bulgarian
efforts to integrate Middle Eastern refugees and the “generally negative
public opinion” concerning refugees.
Currently Bulgaria’s migrant reception centres have an occupancy rate of
only 10 percent, while the entire 274-kilometre Bulgarian-Turkish
border is blocked by a barbed-wire fence. — NNN-AGENCIES
