The 1984 agreement significantly
amending the 1929 Concordat regulating the relations between the
Roman Catholic and the Italian State promoted a religious
pluralism in Italy that is proper to the Republic, President
Sergio Mattarella said on Thursday.
"The 1984 Framework Agreement paved the way for the agreements
subsequently concluded by the State with other confessions,
fostering the recognition of religious pluralism that is proper
to Italian society today," said Mattarella in a message to a
study session organised by the Bettino Craxi ETS Foundation and
the Italian Embassy to the Holy See for the 40th anniversary of
the signing of the Agreement amending the Concordat.
"After forty years, the fundamental principle of proper
cooperation in freedom, which represents the soul of the
Republican Concordat, remains a topical and fruitful guide, as
well as a source of inspiration for addressing the changes
affecting ecclesial and national affairs," he added.
The original Concordat is one part of the broader Lateran Pacts
of 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel
III and Premier Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope
Pius XI that also included a political treaty recognizing the
Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of
the Holy See and a financial convention compensating the Church
for the loss in 1870 of the Papal States.
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