Friday, February 4, 2005

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT MEETS CARDINAL SODANO


VATICAN CITY, FEB 4, 2005 (VIS) - According to a communique made public today, Josep Borrell Fontelles, president of the European Parliament, accompanied by Christine Verger, his cabinet director, and Giovanni Salimbeni, director of the parliament's Rome office, met this morning with Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano and Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary for Relations with States.

  "The president," the communique reads, "above all wished to send greetings to the Holy Father John Paul II and best wishes for a speedy recovery, both from himself and from the European Parliament.

  "President Borrell Fontelles then explained some of the parliament's current activities and the prospects arising from the enlarging of the European Union, expressing the hope that the constitutional treaty will be ratified by all States. The president, in harmony with the position the Holy See has always maintained, was careful to underline the nature of the European Union as a 'moral force,' with its own message of  ever valid civilization, to be proposed even in the broader international context.

  "The conversation also touched on problems arising from the presence of three great European bodies - the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - with agreement on the need for a clarification of their relationship.

  "The cardinal Secretary of State also highlighted the importance of the apostolic nunciature accredited to the European Union, in order to favor fruitful dialogue on issues of current importance."
.../EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT/BORRELL                    VIS 20050204 (250)


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