Professor at Tbilisi University on papal visit to Georgia

(Vatican Radio) The peace motto chosen for Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to Georgia this weekend will strike a deep chord in this nation that has seen so much war and conflict in recent years. Monica Ellena is free-lance journalist and professor of Political Communications at the university in the Georgian capital.

She spoke to Vatican Radio’s Gabriella Ceraso just ahead of the papal visit.

Listen to the interview with Monica Ellena, free-lance journalist and Professor at the University of Tbilisi:

 

Ellena said Pope Francis’ trip comes 17 years after Pope John Paul’s landmark visit to Georgia in 1999 and the two papal visits have a very different historical context. In 1999 Georgia was still struggling to find its way after gaining its independence following the collapse of Soviet rule in eastern Europe whereas this papal visit in 2016, she noted, comes as the country has firmly set its sights on the West. Ellena also believes that the papal visit this time around will be more focused on ecumenism, rather than geopolitical concerns. 

Asked how the authorities are likely to respond to the Pope’s call for peace reflected in the motto for this papal visit, Ellena said this appeal for peace will strike a deep chord in the hearts of all those in Georgia, a nation, she said, that has seen “so much war, conflict and instability” in its recent past.