During his three-day visit, Cardinal Walter Kasper will receive an honorary doctorate in theology from the State University of Sofia. His visit is a continuation of the dialogue begun during John Paul II’s trip to the country last May.
Among the personalities welcoming Cardinal Kasper at Sofia’s airport today were Orthodox Metropolitan Simeon and Bishop Christo Proykov, the president of the Catholic bishops’ conference and apostolic exarch of Sofia for Catholics of the Byzantine-Slavic rite.
After his arrival, Cardinal Kasper’s first visit was to Orthodox Patriarch Maxim and the Holy Synod.
The cardinal then presided over a Mass for the Catholic community of the Bulgarian capital in the Latin-rite St. Joseph Parish.
Today, Cardinal Kasper visited two Orthodox sites: the monastery of Backovo, one of the most important in the country, and the seminary of Plovdiv, where he met with several representatives of the Eastern church.
