VATICAN CITY, NOV 12, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the president of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, recalling his visit to Fatima in 2000 to beatify "the two great Portuguese little ones: Francisco and Jacinta Marto."
"The special light that shone in their lives," he said, "wants to illuminate the world. The world continues to look to Portugal with hope, especially in terms of becoming aware of the grave crisis of values in modern society, ever more insecure in the face of fundamental ethical decisions for the future path of humanity."
John Paul II said that "the formation of a critical conscience in order to discern the meaning of life and of history is the greatest cultural challenge of our times, something which the Church in Portugal wants to confront through its collaboration, as the new Concordat that will go into effect in a few days demonstrates."
A concordat is an agreement signed between the Holy See and the secular government of a State which regulates relations between the two in a number of areas such as education, the teaching of religion, and assigning Catholic chaplains to prisoners and the military.
AC/…/SAMPAIO VIS 20041112 (180)
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