VATICAN - On a pastoral visit Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino takes the Holy Father's solidarity to Cote d'Ivoire and presents the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Friday, 25 May 2007

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - From the 15 to 20 May, at the request of Pope Benedict XVI and at the invitation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Cote d'Ivoire, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council for pastoral care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, paid a visit to that war torn country. The Cardinal visited a number of towns including Bouaké, the stronghold of the rebellion. He celebrated Mass in various towns and parishes and had meetings with the Bishops, the head of state Laurent Gbagbo, the prime minister Guillaume Soro, the president of the national assembly. The Cardinal also gave a presentation of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.
In his homily during mass at St Paul's cathedral in Abidjan, the Cardinal encouraged the Ivorian people to continue along the path of peace and to promote national reconciliation and the participation of all the forces without exclusion on any grounds political, religious, cultural or ethnic. There was warm applause when an important gesture of reconciliation was made in the cathedral during mass at the moment of the greeting of peace, an embrace between the president of the country and the prime minister. Cardinal Martino urged those present never to forget the day, even if shadows appear in the future. During his visit Cardinal Martino assured everyone he met, authorities, students, religious, displaced persons, invalids and many others, of the Pope's spiritual closeness and on his behalf left behind a sum of money for the first necessities of those most in need. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 25/5/2007; Righe 20; Parole 300)


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