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Catholic World News News Feature

Italian prime minister meets Pope, vows support June 06, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 6 with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was making his first formal visit to the Vatican since his return to the helm of the Italian government.

The Pope's private conversation with Berlusconi lasted 40 minutes-- 10 minutes more than the Vatican had scheduled. After the meeting, the Vatican press conference issued a mild statement indicating that the discussion had touched on both bilateral relations between the Holy See and Italy and international concerns including "the situation in the Middle East and the prospects for the spiritual, ethical and social development of the European continent."

Regarding Church-state affairs in Italy, the Vatican statement said that the Pope's conversation with Berlusconi included "questions upon which the Holy Father had dwelt during his recent discourse to the plenary assembly of the Italian episcopal conference." In his address to the Italian bishops the Pope had spoken of secularism and relativism, the culture of life, protection for the family, and funding for Catholic schools-- all likely topics for his talk with the prime minister.

The Italian prime minister was more expansive in his description of his conversation with the Pontiff. Berlusconi said that he had fully agreed with the Pope regarding "the sanctity of the human person and of the family." He predicted that the Vatican would be happy with the policies of his new government. "We are on the side of the Church," he said; "we believe in the values of our Christian tradition."

Before his meeting with the Pontiff, Berlusconi had been expressed similar thoughts in interviews with Vatican Radio and the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. He told a secular television audience that "the Pope and his Church cannot help but be pleased by the actions of this government."

In a public exchange of gifts before their private conversation, Pope Benedict presented Berlusconi with a commemorative pen for the 500th anniversary of St. Peter’s basilica. The Italian prime minister in turn presented the Pope with a gold pectoral cross, decorated with one diamond and eleven topaz gemstones. The diamond represents the Apostle Peter, the first Vicar of Christ, while the topaz gemstones represent the other eleven apostles. In the Catholic tradition, the gemstone topaz symbolizes constant love in caring for God’s flock.

Berlusconi’s cabinet secretary Gianni Letta, the former center-right nominee for the Italian presidency who on February 16 of this year received the title of Gentleman of His Holiness, accompanied him to the Vatican. After the papal audience, Berlusconi and Letta met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Secretary for Relations with States, for over 90 minutes.