Friday, August 10, 2012

Italian government officially recognizes Mormon church

Artist rendering of the Rome temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , 2010 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved)The Italian government has granted The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints official status as a church and “partner of the state,” the church announced recently.

The announcement comes after decades-long efforts and negotiations between LDS officials and the Italian government.

The legal status gives the Church greater freedom to do more good, both as a church and as a social institution.

Previously, the LDS Church had been recognized by the government only as a charitable institution.

The move comes 150 years since the first members of the church were baptized in Italy, and in advance of the first LDS temple to be dedicated in the Mediterranean country, which will happen in sometime in the next year or so. Groundbreaking for the LDS Rome Temple took place in October of 2010. The temple was announced by church president Thomas S. Monson in October of 2008. It will be the 12 operating temple in Europe.

There are currently more than 24,000 members of the LDS faith living in Italy who worship in 98 congregations.

Italy President Giorgio Napolitano signed the Intesa con lo Stato, or legal agreement, on 30 July, and the document will soon be published as law in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, the official journal of record of the Italian government.

The agreement grants the highest status given to religions — which, until recently, numbered only about half a dozen besides the Catholic Church (including Jews, Baptists and Methodists).

This status affords the LDS Church the legal authority to perform marriages and will smooth the process for obtaining visas for missionaries and others.

The status also grants Latter-day Saint clergy the ability to visit members and those in need with automatic access to state hospitals, prisons and military barracks.

Church officials say the new status will strengthen relationships with the Italian government, and will also enable the Church to work more effectively in community relief efforts with the Catholic Church and other recognized religious denominations.