Vatican officials promote a new Forum for Culture and Development in Africa
An ecclesiastical Forum for culture and development involving African representatives
of culture and providing a bridge for the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture,
is just one of the projects on the table aiming to strengthen ties and further collaboration
between the Dicastery and the Church in Africa.
This project was recently under
discussion at the Pontifical Council for Culture during a day-long reception for the
Ambassadors to the Holy See from Africa.
As Father Theo Mascarenhas explained
to Linda Bordoni, the successful initiative follows in the wake of a reception last
hear for Ambassadors to the Holy See from the Asian Continent in a bid to further
and promote intercultural dialogue between the various countries and the Council.
He
says that in that occasion there was a very good response with Ambassadors or representatives
from twenty-two countries attending.
So, Father Mascarenhas says, in continuation
of the objective of carrying forward cooperation between the Pontifical Council for
Culture and many of the countries that are geographically distant from the Vatican,
the Dicastery organized on March 22, a meeting of Ambassadors from the African continent
to the Holy See.
He illustrated the programme which was held in three different
parts and at more than one venue.
The first part of the day was devoted to
a detailed presentation of Dicastery by the President Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi and
the Secretary of the Council Bishop Barthélemy Adoukonou who comes from Benin.
After
the presentation, the Ambassadors had the chance to intervene and express their opinion
and make their proposals for collaboration.
The group then was then taken
on a guided tour of the Temple of Hadrian which hosts Rome’s Chamber of Commerce,
sponsor of the event.
During the last part of the programme, the diplomats
were taken visit to the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome’s main auditorium built
on a project by architect Renzo Piano.
The event, Father Mascarenhas explains,
intends to strengthen further the ties between the embassies and the Dicastery and
to evolve new ways for cultural cooperation.