Pope’s trip to Georgia marked by protests and a chilly reception
TBILISI, Georgia — Pope Francis, accustomed to huge, usually adulatory crowds during his international trips, got an early taste of how his two-day visit to Georgia would be a bit different, courtesy of David Isakadze, a passionate anti-papist and a priest in the Georgian Orthodox Church.
When Francis and his motorcade pulled out of the airport in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, on Friday, Isakadze and a few dozen other protesters were waiting with banners declaring, “The pope is a heretic” or “Antichrist!” When Francis visited a Catholic church later in the day, the protesters were there, too.
Then on Saturday, Francis celebrated Mass at a soccer stadium — but only a few thousand people were in the stands, unusual even for a country with a small Catholic population. And while the Vatican expected an Orthodox dele- gation to attend the service as a gesture of good will, none showed up. An Orthodox spokesman blamed doctrinal differences.
At the official level, Francis has been warmly received, especially by Georgia’s government, which hopes that the pope’s visit will help remind the world that onefifth of Georgian territory remains occupied by separatists armed and financed by Russia.
The ailing leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, also greeted Francis as “my dear brother” and issued a statement condemning the Orthodox priests who have criticized the pope’s visit.
Francis knew the trip could be bumpy. Pope John Paul II was given a cool reception when he came in 1999. But Francis came to Tbilisi to spread a message of peace and reconciliation, not only in Georgia but also in Syria and Iraq, which are a few hundred miles away. He will spend Sunday in Azerbaijan, a majority Shiite nation.