To mark the 86th anniversary of the Lateran Pacts–which established the sovereign state of Vatican City–Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, with several members of his cabinet, held a summit with senior Vatican officials Tuesday, reported ANSA.
Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the head of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, represented the Vatican in the meetings at Palazzo Borromeo, Italy’s embassy to the Holy See in Rome.
Representing Italy were the nation’s recently elected President Sergio Mattarella, Premier Matteo Renzi, and several members of his cabinet. It marked the first anniversary ceremony of the Lateran Pacts for both Renzi and Mattarella, who was elected last month.
Signed in February 1929 and amended in 1984, the pacts, which are part of the Italian Constitution, govern relations between Italy and the Holy See. In 1984, following 15 years of negotiations, the 1929 concordat was changed, so that Roman Catholicism would no longer be the official state religion.
The Lateran Treaty is within the Lateran Pacts. It states the agreement reached between Italy’s King Victor Emmanuel III along with then prime minister and head of government, Benito Mussolini, and Pope Pius XI, whose name was signed by Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, then secretary of state, on his behalf.
Members of Renzi’s cabinet taking part included Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Education Minister Stefania Giannini, Civil Service Minister Marianna Madia, Reforms Minister Maria Elena Boschi, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, and cabinet undersecretaries Graziano Delrio and Luca Lotti. Upper House and Lower House speakers Pietro Grasso and Laura Boldrini also were present.
