ROME (RFE/RL) — Pope Benedict XVI met with President Serge Sargisian on Monday to discuss ways of deepening what the Vatican described as “good relations” existing between the Roman Catholic Church and Armenia.
Sargisian also had a separate meeting at the Vatican with Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and visited the Armenian Catholic church of St. Nicholas in Rome during a working trip to Italy and the Holy See.
“In the course of the cordial discussions, and having expressed great pleasure at the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Armenia, the parties exchanged views on the role that the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church play in society, and the contribution they bothmake to the common good,” the official Vatican Information Service said in a statement.
“Attention also turned to the importance of the country’s Christian heritage, and of the commitment to educating the new generations in fundamental values,” read the statement.
Sargisian’s press office, for its part, said the president and the pope discussed “the large role in the society” played by the two churches. “They stressed the importance of bringing up generations in the spirit of Christian values,” it said in a statement.
