“We live in a period of crisis; Europe has huge problems.”
So said Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in French, as he showed his concern for the current economic crisis, and for the continent’s fortunes.
He turned to the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, receiving him in an audience at his apartment Library Room, in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
The face-to-face meeting between the Pope and Van Rompuy lasted about 20 minutes.
Van Rompuy gifted the Pope with a book entitled Europa, abbozzo di un progetto [tn: Europe: Outline of a Project]. Benedict XVI, in his turn, gave his guest the Pontifical Medal.
A bulletin issued by the Vatican press office relates that the meetings held today between Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and Pope Benedict XVI (and then with Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was accompanied by the Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Dominique Mamberti) opened up “in a cordial atmosphere and allowed a useful exchange of opinion on the international situation and on the contribution that the Catholic Church wishes to offer the European Union.”
A communiqué published by the Vatican press office reports that.
“During the course of the dialogue,” the note adds, “the promotion of human rights, and in particular, of religious freedom, was also emphasized.”