Vatican's secretary of state visits Estonia ({{contentCtrl.commentsTotal}})
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Kaljurand
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin visited Estonia on Tuesday. Parolin met with Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) and Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand (independent), laid a wreath at the Freedom Column in Tallinn, and met with representatives of the Estonian Council of Churches.
In her meeting with Parolin, Kaljurand stressed the importance of the work of the church as well as Pope Francis for peace and humanitarian values, solving crises, and helping those in need. Topics discussed included the European Union's cooperation with its Eastern partners and recent developments in Belarus and Ukraine.
The relations between Estonia and the Holy See were good, Kaljurand said, and everyday cooperation between the state and the Catholic Church was working well. "The Roman Catholic Church, its small community in Estonia notwithstanding, plays an important and visible role in society and cultural life," the minister added.
The prime minister said after his own meeting with the Cardinal Secretary that Estonia valued the pope's work, and expressed the hope that he might visit Estonia soon himself.
Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin is the highest representative of the Holy See to visit Estonia since Pope John Paul II. was here in 1993.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn
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