VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is heading to Romania for a three-day, cross-country pilgrimage that in many ways is completing the 1999 trip by St. John Paul II that marked the first-ever papal visit to a majority Orthodox country. Francis’ visit starting Friday comes on the heels of the European Parliament elections that hollowed out the political middle in the bloc, and Francis is expected to speak about issues confronting the continent during the trip. He will also beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops who were martyred during communist rule, when Catholics were brutally persecuted. John Paul agreed to Orthodox demands that he visit only Bucharest and not Transylvania, where most of the country’s Catholics live. This visit should make us become better Catholics and better Orthodox and in the end, better citizens.

Source: National Post May 31, 2019 04:41 UTC