Pope receives Lituanian president

(December 10, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI received President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lituania in a private audience in the Vatican on Friday. A Vatican communiqué said that the two leaders held cordial talks acknowledging the positive presence of the Catholic Church in the history and life the Baltic nation and expressed the desire to strengthen the good relations already existing. They exchanged views on the role of Lithuania as it is about to assume the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). President Grybauskaite and the Pope also touched upon current economic and social issues, particularly with regard to families and youth. The Lithuanian president later met Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.