Pope Francis gave thanks for the good relations between Muslims and Catholics in Azerbaijan during a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
"Mission is not proselytism," said the pope two days after returning from his papal visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. "This style of evangelical presence as a seed of the Kingdom of God is, if possible, even more necessary in Azerbaijan, where the majority of the population is Muslim and there are only a few hundred Catholics," Francis added.
"But thanks to God they are in good relations with everyone, in particular they maintain brotherly ties with Orthodox Christians," he said. The relationship with Orthodox Christians was at the centre of the first leg of his trip to Georgia, where he was greeted at the airport by Patriarch Ilia II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church. "His witness did good to my heart and soul," the pope said.
Both Georgia and Azerbaijan "have very ancient historical, cultural and religious roots but at the same time they are going through a new phase", Francis continued in reference to the 25th anniversary of independence of the ex-Soviet states, which falls this year. "In this phase they are running up against many difficulties in the various spheres of social life," the pope said, adding that "the Catholic Church is called to be present in communion with the other Christian churches and communities and in dialogue with the other religious communities".
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