The 1984 agreement significantly amending the 1929 Concordat regulating the relations between the Roman Catholic and the Italian State promoted a religious pluralism in Italy that is proper to the Republic, President Sergio Mattarella said on Thursday.
"The 1984 Framework Agreement paved the way for the agreements subsequently concluded by the State with other confessions, fostering the recognition of religious pluralism that is proper to Italian society today," said Mattarella in a message to astudy session organized by the Bettino Craxi ETS Foundation and the Italian Embassy to the Holy See for the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement amending the Concordat.
"After forty years, the fundamental principle of proper cooperation in freedom, which represents the soul of the Republican Concordat, remains a topical and fruitful guide, as well as a source of inspiration for addressing the changes affecting ecclesial and national affairs," he added.
The original Concordat is one part of the broader Lateran Pacts of 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor EmmanuelIII and Premier Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI that also included a political treaty recognizing the Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See and a financial convention compensating the Church for the loss in 1870 of the Papal States.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA