VATICAN, Oct 19, 01 (CWNews.com) - Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi played host to the members of the Synod of Bishops, and spoke of his admiration for the Church's efforts to promote world peace and understanding.
President Ciampi said that he saw the bishops, gathered from around the world, "not only representatives of an ecumenical faith, but of humanity as a whole, going beyond the barriers of judgment to include the common values of everyone."
The Italian leader thanked the bishops for their "daily presence in the parts of the world where the human person is not always respected and where poverty gives rise to despair."
The presidential reception for members of the Synod was not unprecedented. Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro had invited the bishops to meet with him in April 1994, during the African synod.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
19. oktober 2001