80 international journalists are accompanying Pope Francis during his visit to Slovakia. In his commentary of the Papal trip to Budapest, the BBC touched on the widely discussed issue of prioritising Slovakia over Hungary, pointing out the length of the trip which lasted only a few hours compared to 4 days spent in Slovakia. The British Catholic weekly Tablet sees the reason in „the history and politics of the region. The first female president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, a 48-year-old former environmental lawyer, represents a new generation of European leaders, in sharp contrast to some of the grey men of the past." The French TV station France 24 also noted that Pope had accepted the invitation of Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
International media are paying further attention to the Pope's Tuesday visit to an impoverished Roma quarter in Kosice, eastern Slovakia. The AP press agency pointed out that he is "the first pontiff to meet the most socially excluded minority group in Slovakia" calling the Lunik IX neighbourhood "the fitting place to go for the pope of peripheries". According to Slovak priest and church events commentator Marian Gavenda, the meeting with a few Roma representatives is to send a message mainly to the non-Roma inhabitants of the Lunik IX quarter.
„This way, Pope wants to encourage the majority to leave their comfort zone and meet and help those in need," said Gavenda. Speaking to Radio Slovakia International, Marian Gavenda called attention to the fact that the Pope is going to celebrate the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in Prešov, eastern Slovakia, on Tuesday.
„It is unique that the Pope is celebrating this liturgy of the eastern rite... This really is setting a precedent," explained the Slovak commentator with 25 years of practice. As Gavenda added, many might not know that as a member of the Bishops' Conference in Argentina, Pope Francis was responsible for contacts with believers of the Greek-Catholic or Uniate Church, many of them Slovak expats.
„He, as an Argentinian bishop, was thus involved in studying the rites of the Uniate Church which is commonly used here, in our Central European territory," stated Gavenda. Pope Francis will celebrate the divine liturgy and announce the homily in Prešov on Tuesday at 10 am and is expected to arrive at Luník IX at 4:45 pm.
Source: RTVS, RSI, BBC, AP, Tablet
