Pope Francis met with the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) Rui Maria de Araújo. According to the Vatican, the discussions were cordial and covered the good relations between the Holy See and Timor-Leste, “the historical contribution of the Church to building up the nation and collaboration with the civil Authorities in various social areas, such as education, health and the fight against poverty.”
As usual, after the papal audience, the Prime Minister met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Antoine Camilleri.
Notably, there was also an exchange of instruments for the ratification of the Accord between the Holy See and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which was signed in Dili in August of 2015. The accord has 26 articles and provides the Church with juridical rights and recognizes the legal personality of the Church and her institutions, and guarantees the Church freedom to carry out her mission.
Cardinal Parolin ended the meeting with a prayer to the Virgin Mary to protect the people of Timor-Leste.
“All the world wondered…” Revelation 13:3
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