(Nov. 7, 2007) Pope Benedict XVI and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah held a historic
meeting on Tuesday and discussed the situation of minority Christians in the Islamic
country where the Vatican wants them to have more freedom. At the first meeting between
a Pope and a Saudi monarch, the two also discussed the need for greater collaboration
between Christians, Muslims and Jews and discussed the prospects for a Middle East
peace. They spoke for about 30 minutes in the Pontiff's private study in what both
the Vatican and reporters described as a cordial atmosphere. The Vatican wants
greater rights for the 1 million Catholics who live in Saudi Arabia, most of them
migrant workers who are not allowed to practice their religion in public. They also
discussed inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, justice and spiritual and moral
values, especially those which support the family". The Pope and the king also discussed
the Middle East, particularly the need to find "a just solution to the conflicts that
afflict the region, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian. The King subsequently
went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, who was accompanied
by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States. Vatican
maintains diplomatic relations with 176 states and institutions, including many in
the Islamic world, but a Vatican official said Saudi Arabia has never asked for such
a relationship. The issue of diplomatic relations between the countries, which still
have no formal ties, was not raised during the talks.