AGREEMENT BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI

Vatican City,  (VIS) - On 6 November, in the offices of the presidency of the Republic of Burundi in Bujumbura, in the presence of the Head of State Pierre Nkurunziza, the Holy See and the Republic of Burundi signed a framework agreement on "matters of common interest".

Signing for the Holy See as plenipotentiary was Archbishop Franco Coppola, apostolic nuncio to that country, and signing on behalf of the Republic of Burundi was Laurent Kavakure, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The framework agreement, acknowledging the good relations that have developed between the Holy See and Burundi over the last fifty years, defines and guarantees the legal status of the Catholic Church and regulates a number of areas, including canonical marriage, places of worship, Catholic institutions of instruction and education, the teaching of religion in schools, the Church's charitable activities, pastoral care of the armed forces and in prisons and hospitals, and the property and tax regime.