A message sent to the Holy Father expresses «the hope of a visit of yours to Russia … to reaffirm us in the faith and to develop the dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church.»
«I wish to assure you, Holiness, that Russian Catholics will support you with their prayers and will ask the Lord to give you the physical and spiritual strength» to realize «the difficult mission that has been entrusted to you,» he adds.
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz also wrote a letter, which will be read in parishes during next Sunday’s Mass, in which he mentions that some books of then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, such as «Introduction to Christianity,» are very popular in Russia.
The prelate believes that Benedict XVI will help the Church of today «to find the remedy against the pernicious influence of secularism and relativism.»