Christianity should not be restricted to private sphere, Pope tells Italy’s president

April 20, 2015

Pope Francis received Italy’s new president in an April 18 state visit and said that while Church and state are distinct entities with distinct roles, religion in a pluralistic society has a public dimension.

“The Church offers everyone the beauty of the Gospel and its message of salvation and, to carry out its spiritual mission, it needs conditions of peace and calm, which only public authorities can promote,” Pope Francis said in an audience in the Apostolic Palace with President Sergio Mattarella.

“On the other hand, public authorities—who are primarily expected to create the conditions for a just and sustainable development, so that civil society can develop all its potentialities—can find a valuable and useful support for their action in the commitment and loyal collaboration of the Church,” he added.

Citing the profound influence Christianity has exercised upon Italian culture, the Pope said that the religious dimension should not be limited to “personal conscience” and called for the recognition of religion’s “significant role in the construction of society.”

After drawing attention to the issues of youth unemployment and the care of creation, Pope Francis thanked the president for Italy’s assistance to migrants.

Before the Pontiff's public address, he and the president met privately and discussed the family, education, work, and migration. Both parties "confirmed their willingness to pursue their active collaboration on a bilateral level in the context of the international community, especially with regard to the promotion and protection of religious freedom and the dignity of human beings," according to the Holy See Press office.

Following the Pontiff’s address, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, spoke about the relation between Italy and the Church and recalled the centenary of the First World War and the 750th anniversary of Dante’s birth.

 

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Further information:

• Visita di Stato a Sua Santità il Papa Francesco di S.E. il Signor Sergio Mattarella, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope Francis: religion should not be confined to 'personal conscience' (Vatican Radio)
• Audience to the President of Italy - 2015.04.18 (Vatican YouTube)
• Comunicato della Sala Stampa: Visita di Stato a Sua Santità Papa Francesco di S.E. il Sig. Sergio Mattarella, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana (Holy See Press Office)