VATICAN CITY, NOV. 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The prime minister of Hungary visited Benedict XVI today, giving a chance to the two leaders to speak of relations between Church and state communities in that Central European nation.
Gordon Bajnai went on to meet the Holy Father's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and the Vatican secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
A communiqué from the Vatican press office reported: "In the course of the cordial discussions -- having recalled how the bilateral agreements signed over recent years have ratified reciprocal relations -- attention turned to certain questions concerning the rapport between the ecclesial and civil communities, and the importance was underlined of continuing dialogue through the appropriate bodies.
"An exchange of opinions also took place on the current international situation, including the financial crisis in the light of 'Caritas in Veritate,' and mention was made of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union, due for the first six months of 2011."
Hungary has close to 10 million people and is just over half Catholic.
