LITHUANIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER TOOK PART IN AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE AND MET WITH OFFICIALS OF THE HOLY SEE
On 3 June while paying a visit to Rome, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas and his spouse Loreta took part in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. During the conversation with Minister V.Ušackas, Pope Benedict XVI congratulated Lithuania on the millennium anniversary of the first written mention of its name and called it a great Catholic country with deeply rooted Christian traditions.
In the Apostolic Palace, Minister V.Ušackas met with Secretary of State of His Holiness the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, former long-term Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, who was appointed as the Pope’s legate, personal representative at the celebration of Lithuania’s Millennium.
During the meetings, close cooperation of Lithuania and the Holy See was highlighted. The two states base their cooperation on values and make joint efforts in protecting human rights and freedoms, especially the freedom of religion, in promoting confidence among nations and religions, and in seeking to guarantee the implementation of an international humanitarian law.
The Minister expressed his concern regarding the pastoral care for Lithuanians living abroad and shared his personal experience on this matter. According to the head of Lithuania’s diplomacy, the decreasing number of old Lithuanian parishes in the world, the lack of Lithuanian priests, material problems of pastoral activities present a challenge, which need more than traditional solutions and a closer cooperation between the Church and the State.
Foreign Minister V.Ušackas and officials of the Holy See discussed the perspective of close cooperation as Lithuania is preparing for the Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011. The cooperation should also concentrate on spreading the values of peaceful coexistence of states, tolerance, and freedom of religion, as well as on combating human trafficking.
On 2 June, Minister V.Ušackas and his spouse also visited the Lithuanian Papal College of St Casimir.
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