ROME REPORTS: A look inside the Vatican's Diplomatic Power

Source:  Rome Reports

From U.S president Barack Obama to Queen Elizabeth...From controversial leaders to Hollywood stars. Pope Francis has met them all. The Vatican may be the smallest country in the world, but it has real diplomatic influence.

NIGEL BAKER

UK Ambassador to the Holy See

"Possibly the world’s most extensive network today, functioning on all sorts of levels from the political to the religious to the NGO, to the street, to the media.”

Nigel Baker is the UK's ambassador before the Holy See. He says a lot more than just religion is addressed. There's also immigration, war, nuclear disarmament and inter-religious dialogue.

NIGEL BAKER

UK Ambassador to the Holy See

"These are top of the agenda issues and the Holy See not only has something to say, but it’s having influence on the debate.”

With more than 170 countries accredited before the Holy See, it has an extensive international network, other nations want to tap into. It's not just the small diplomatic team in the Vatican, but the Universal Church it has access to.

NIGEL BAKER

UK Ambassador to the Holy See

"We don’t have at the moment an embassy in Damascus. But, we may be able to talk to Syrians, Syrian Christians or Syrian refugee workers who are working closely inside Syria and have information on what’s happening.”

Since being elected, Pope Francis has been top news. Getting an audience with the Pope is a way to deal with concrete issues, but there's also a popularity element, world leaders may not always admit to.

NIGEL BAKER

UK Ambassador to the Holy See

"Even world leaders I think can be susceptible to a little bit of the star dust and see whether that may rub off on them and I think it’s difficult to find a world leader that has the star dust that Pope Francis has.”

So it's not just countries with a majority of Catholics that expect to have diplomatic ties with the Holy See. Even more, it's about being connected to an international network that has real influence out on the ground.

The Rise of Catholicism in the Middle East where it was born! (Protestants and other non-Catholics should be thankful to the CATHOLIC CHURCH for paving the way to Religious Tolerance in the Persian Gulf)

The Proposed "Our Lady of Arabia Catholic Cathedral" in Bahrain [Photo Source: Hermit Brother Blog]

Religious Tolerance Surges in the Persian Gulf
Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady is being built.

BY VICTOR GAETAN, SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER

AWALI, Bahrain — Over the last six years, religious tolerance has increased in the cradle of Islam, the Persian Gulf, according to clerics who live there as well as academic observers.
On May 31, a brick from St. Peter’s Basilica, which is being used as the foundation stone for the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain, was blessed by Bishop Camillo Ballin, apostolic vicar of northern Arabia.

The blessing ceremony marked the start of construction on a cathedral, pastoral center, guesthouse and car park — on land donated by King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa — to serve the faithful in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

King Hamad met Pope Francis May 19 at the Vatican and presented the Holy Father with a red box containing a scale model of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, which will be the largest Catholic church in the Persian Gulf.

Driving this positive trend are the increased numbers of guest workers who are Christian — primarily from the Philippines and India — and initiatives by wealthy rulers to open up the region to the world.

Foreign workers in the Persian Gulf are employed mainly in construction, domestic service, energy and health care. "Immigration started when the oil was discovered, around 40 years ago. It is always increasing, for the necessity of manpower," Bishop Ballin, 70, explained to the Register via email.

And the numbers are mindboggling: In Qatar, for example, more than 1.3 million foreign nationals work for a Qatari population of only 280,000 citizens. Kuwait has about the same number of visiting workers but a larger local population of 2.2 million.

Bishop Ballin said more than 350,000 expatriates in both Qatar and Kuwait are Catholic, about evenly divided between Indians and Filipinos.

MAJOR RELIGIONS originated from the MIDDLE EAST...

FAKE Religions (churches) came outside the Middle East!
In response to ReadMeINC's assertions against the Catholic Church!

Photo taken from Wikipedia - Vatican Relations

Here's a classical example of how members of the so-called Iglesia ni Cristo® like  ReadMeINC.blogspot brag about their church founded by Felix Manalo in 1914:

Itinatag ng ating Panginoong HesuKristo ang kaniyang Iglesia sa Jerusalem na nasa ASYA. Ang Iglesia noong unang siglo ay kalaunay natalikod.
(Jesus Christ established his Church in Jerusalem which is in ASIA. That Church from the first century eventually apostatized.)

Sa loob ng CHRISTIANITY, alin ang totoong Iglesiang itinayo ni Kristo?
(In CHRISTIANITY, which is the true Church Christ founded?)

Ang Roman Catholic Church ba na nagmula sa EUROPA?
(Is it the Roman Catholic Church which originated from EUROPE?)

Ang Protestantism kaya na nagmula kay Martin Luther na nagmula sa EUROPA DIN?
(Or Protestantism which came (sic) from Martin Luther which came also from EUROPE?)

Ang Iglesia ni Cristo kaya sa Pilipinas na naitayo sa pamamagitan ni Ka Felix Manalo base sa propesiya ng banal na kasulatan, na nagmula ASYA?
(Or the Iglesia ni Cristo which emerged fromt he Philippines through Ka Felix Manalo according the the prophesis in the holy scriptures, which came from ASIA?)

Kung ang Major Religions of the World, lalo na ang Christianity o ang Iglesiang itinayo ni Kristo sa Jerusalem ay nasa ASYA, saan kaya naroon ang TUNAY na Iglesiang itinayo ni Kristo? Sa Amerika, Sa Europa o sa ASYA?
(If Major Religions of the World, especially Christianity or the Church founded by Christ in Jerusalem which is in ASIA, where can we find the TRUE Church which Christ established? In America, in Europe or in ASIA?)

ANONG SA TINGIN NIYO?
(WHAT DO YOU THINK?)

Good that this member of the so-called Iglesia ni Cristo® helped us find very easily  the "ORIGINAL" Church of Christ amidst a throng of various claims by different founders and their churches opposing one another in the Protestant world - "40,000 competing different versions of Christianity" claiming ONLY THE BIBLE is their Sole Authority yet the same "Bible" divided them continuously!

Republic of Mosambique now has diplomatic ties with Vatican

VATICAN CITY, 9 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Secretariat of State today published a communique regarding the signing of an agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Mozambique, which took place on 7 December at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the latter African country.

The communique states that "the agreement, the first of its type signed by a southern African country, consolidates the existing links of friendship and collaboration between the two Parties. It is composed of a Preamble and twenty-three Articles, which regulate various aspects, including the juridical status of the Catholic church in Mozambique, the recognition of academic qualifications and canonical marriage, and the fiscal regime".

The Accord was signed on the part of the Holy See by Archbishop Antonio Arcari, Apostolic Nuncio in Mozambique, and on the part of the Republic of Mozambique, by Dr Oldemiro Julio Marques Baloi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Ahmadinejad’s message delivered to Pope Benedict XVI

TEHRAN, Oct. 6 (MNA) – Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajoddini delivered President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s message to Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican on Tuesday.

Mirtajoddini, a cleric who serves as presidential aide for parliamentary affairs, also met with the chairpersons of the foreign policy committees of Italy’s senate and parliament.

The two sides discussed issues of mutual interests as well as regional and international cooperation.

Mirtajoddini also called for the expansion of ties between the two countries in all areas.

Holy See established Full Diplomatic Ties with Russia

EWTN/CNA - Just under two weeks ago Russian officials accepted the credentials of Archbishop Antonio Mennini as the first papal nuncio to their country. The event ushers in a new era of full diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Russian Federation.

The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) newspaper reported that Foreign Affairs minister Sergei Lavrov met with Archbishop Mennini on July 15 in Moscow to seal full diplomatic relations, which Pope Benedict XVI and president Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to last December. Just a month ago, on June 26, the Holy See accepted the credentials of Mr. Nikolai Sadlichov as ambassador from Russia.

The Russian vice minister for foreign affairs, Alexandr Krusko, welcomed the nuncio on behalf of President Dmitry Medvedev and highlighted the increasing "spirit of harmony and cooperation" between the Holy See and Russia in recent years, according to LOR.

The Vatican paper added that "the vice minister hoped for an even more fruitful collaboration on the great moral and ethical challenges that are posed to man today."

During the ceremony, Archbishop Mennini assured his dedication to the strengthening of relations between the two sides and his commitment to the "spiritual and moral growth of the people of Russia."

The Holy See and Russia have maintained limited diplomatic relations since 1990, after the fall of the USSR, but had not formally exchanged ambassadors until now. The decision was made on Dec. 3, 2009, when, after meeting with the Pope at the Vatican, President Medvedev asked his Foreign Affairs department to pursue full diplomatic ties for the first time.