MUTUAL ESTEEM BETWEEN POPE AND ITALIAN PRESIDENT

Vatican City, 5 February 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon the Pope and the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano met in one of the rooms adjoining the Paul VI Audience Hall before attending a concert offered to the Pope by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in celebration of the 84th anniversary of the Lateran Accords.

The discussion, which lasted around 20 minutes, was particularly intense, given that it touched upon the approaching end of the president's seven-year term, which has been characterized by a great mutual esteem and by always cordial meetings on the part of both sides, as a statement from the Holy See Press Office reports.

In the conversation, the Pope expressed his attention on and participation in the important events that are awaiting the Italian people. They also spoke about major themes of the international situation, particularly the concern for peace in the most troubled areas of the world such as the Middle East and Africa..