Papal nuncios serve Church unity, Pope tells future Vatican diplomats
June 14, 2010
Speaking on June 14 to a group of future Vatican diplomats, Pope Benedict XVI told them that their work would require complete dedication to unity within the Church.
A papal representative, the Pope told students and teachers at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, acts as a “solid bridge, a safe channel of communication between the particular churches and the Apostolic See.” The task of a papal nuncio, he explained, is to give the Pope a clear view of the situation in the country to which he is assigned, and at the same time “respecting the efforts of bishops” in that country. This task, he added, should be carried out “not bureaucratically but with profound love for the Church.”
A Vatican diplomat should always maintain a priestly presence as well, the Pope continued. The primary task of papal representatives, he said, “is determined not only by the environment in which they work but, first and foremost, by the One Whom they are called to represent.”
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy is the training ground for priests who are destined for Vatican diplomatic assignments.
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