Holy See signs agreement with Republic of Equatorial Guinea
October 13, 2012: The Holy See on Saturday signed an Agreement on relations between
the Catholic Church and the State with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The signing
took place in an annex to the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the
city of Mongomo, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and numerous government authorities. Archbishop
Piero mo Poplar, Titular Archbishop of Torcello and Apostolic Nuncio in Equatorial
Guinea, signed the document for the Holy See while Agapito Mba Mokuy, Minister of
Foreign Affairs represented the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The agreement, which
has 19 articles and an Additional Protocol, will come into force once the instruments
of ratification are exchanged. Among other things, the agreement guarantees the
legal personality of the Church and its institutions. The agreement also covers the
canonical marriage, places of worship, educational institutions, the spiritual assistance
to the Catholic faithful in hospitals and prisons.