Catholic World News News Feature
Cardinal Sodano meets US Secretary of State February 08, 2005
US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited the Vatican on February 8, meeting with her counterpart, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.
In discussions that lasted about an hour, the American official spoke with the Vatican Secretary of State about international affairs, and particularly the peace process in the Middle East. Rice had visited with Israeli and Palestinian officials earlier this week in an effort to move forward their peace talks. The two officials also spent some time in discussing the question of religious freedom-- an issue on which the US and Vatican hope to work together.
Speaking on behalf of the US government, Secretary Rice conveyed her best wishes for the speedy recovery of Pope John Paul II. She had originally been scheduled to meet privately with the Pontiff, but that appointment was cancelled because of the Pope's hospitalization.
Oddly, the American official was also unable to meet with Italian President Silvio Berlusconi, who was also ill with the flu. She spoke instead with the Italian vice-premier, Gianfranco Fini.
Rice is the highest-ranking US official to visit the Vatican since June 2004, when President George W. Bush met with the Holy Father. In his meeting with Rice, Cardinal Sodano was accompanied by the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, and his undersecretary, Msgr. Pietro Parolin.
Ways to
Get
Involved
-
Catholic Credit Card
Donates 1% of total bill.
-
Buy through Amazon
We earn up to 7.5% when you use our link.
-
Direct Donations
CatholicCulture.org depends on your help.
-
Learn More
There are many ways to help CatholicCulture.org.