Rome Newsroom, Jan 4, 2023 / 16:15 pm
The president of Portugal has criticized the Vatican’s restriction of official delegations for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
In comments to journalists this week, Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa indicated that he did not agree with the Vatican’s announcement that only Italy and Germany would have official delegations at the Jan. 5 funeral, though other heads of state may attend in a personal capacity.
Rádio Renascença reported that Rebelo de Sousa told Portuguese journalists that “several heads of state will be there. The president of the Republic does not go to these things in a personal capacity, he goes representing the Portuguese State.”
“It is not the citizen who goes there, if it were the citizen I would not go there, obviously, what matters is to represent the Portuguese State, for a very simple reason: Portugal will organize the World Youth Day, and that is a very relevant fact in the relations with the Catholic Church and the Holy See,” Rebelo de Sousa said.
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