President of Cyprus reflects on last year's visit by Pope Benedict XVI
“The fruit is the development of values, of love, of dignity, of mutual respect, and
of course of peace – in Cyprus, and in the region, and in the world as well.”
This
is the appraisal of the President of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, when asked about
Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic voyage to Cyprus on June 4-6, 2010.
The President
had just addressed a group of Catholic Church leaders from South-Eastern Europe who
are meeting in Nicosia.
The conference is under the auspices of the CCEE, the
Council of European Bishops Conferences, and is looking at the pastoral care of young
people.
President Christofias spoke to them about the political situation on
the island, and the efforts to unify Cyprus after decades of division.
“We
speak about one state, with one indivisible sovereignty, international personality,
and citizenship,” he said. “Otherwise we are speaking about two states. This is
the difference in the vision of Turkey and ourselves…if you analyse the demands of
the Turkish Cyriot leader, you are going to come a conclusion that, in fact, they
want confederation instead of federation.”
Listen to Philippa Hitchen's
full interview with President Christofias: