On 10 May, President of Latvia Egils Levits and Mrs Andra Levite had an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, which was followed by meeting with H. Em. Pietro Parolin, Holy See’s Secretary of the State.
Conversation between the President of Latvia and Pope Francis mostly focused on social challenges and inequality, which are also the priorities of Latvia’s foreign policy and global policy according to Egils Levits. ‘Audience with His Holiness Pope Francis is crucial for Latvia’s foreign policy. Holy See is a state that has two important missions: like Latvia, it is a state just like any other state, moreover – it belongs to small states in terms of its area; and it is also the global religious centre at the same time. Pope is the religious leader of more than one and a half billion people in this world. He has been overseeing this community for more than 2,000 years and also serves as their spiritual and ethical compass. Pope’s spiritual leadership has had a profound impact on Europe and Latvia through ages,’ said the President after meeting Pope Francis.
Pope Francis praised Latvia for being among those countries where three Christian denominations (Lutherans, Catholics and Orthodox) have peacefully coexisted for centuries. He also added that Latvia, in particular Latgale region, is the farthest place in Northern Europe with predominantly Catholic population.
Pope Francis and President Levits then went on to discuss a number of political and philosophical questions linked to relationship between religion and science, and ethical conflicts between the two, which modern societies need to overcome. President Levits mentioned that technological progress, especially the development of artificial intelligence, has the potential to make this ethical divide and dilemmas even deeper in the near future. Pope Francis and President Levits both agreed that Christians and the Church must make their input in public debate on these issues, which are of broad public concern.
President of Latvia and Mrs Andra Levite presented Pope Francis a set of 100 candles made by the Association ‘Independent living Latvia’ and painted in national colours of Latvia and Holy See during the audience. Candles have been handcrafted by youngsters with developmental disorders taking part in the social project Million candles for a group home. Fund-raiser is expected to generate money for construction of group home for assisted living. President also presented Pope Francis a book ‘100 years of sincerity and trust: diplomatic ties between the Republic of Latvia and the Holy See’ released today in Rome.
During the meeting with H. Em. Pietro Parolin, Holy See’s Secretary of the State, President of Latvia underlined the importance of 100-year long relationship between Latvia and the fact that the Holy See never recognized the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 as legal. ‘It is important for countries to closely follow the fundamental principles of international law so rigorously. Although countries face numerous new challenges in the 21st century, Vatican is an excellent example that even small countries can hold enormous global power,’ said President Levits.
Holy See’s Secretary of the State and the President of Latvia looked back at more recent cooperation between the Hole See and Latvia: visit of Pope Francis to Latvia in 2018, visit of Cardinal Parolin to Latvia in 2016 and visit of Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher to Latvia in 2020.
President of Latvia told Cardinal Parolin about the close relationship between the state of Latvia and the Church, underlining the importance of strong ecumenical traditions for Latvia. They then discussed various controversial ethical issues for Latvia and Europe, which are also of concern for the Church. President mentioned that Metropolitan Archbishop of Riga Zbigņevs Stankevičs is very active in representing the Roman Catholic Church in the national level public debate on various issues of public concern. Egils Levits stressed that relationship between the state and Church in Latvia is based on mutual respect, which is also reflected in is successful functioning of National Council on Religion.
Jānis Bordāns, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice, and a member of the Latvian delegation responsible for relationship between the state and the Church, explained the legal framework, which regulates these relations. Cardinal Parolin praised the relationship between Latvia and the Church, as well as constant efforts to expand such cooperation from both sides.
Holy See’s Secretary of the State and the President of Latvia also touched upon situation in Ukraine and Belarus. According to President Levits, ‘it is important to continue supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European perspective. As far as Belarus is concerned, Latvia knows all too well how important sustained support of international democratic community can be in keeping the moral high and not giving up on the fight against authoritarian and totalitarian powers.’
In conclusion, President Levits thanked Cardinal Parolin for his notable contribution to stronger and deeper relationship between Latvia and the Holy See and presented the state award - Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars – to Cardinal Parolin during a special ceremony.
After visiting Vatican, President of Latvia Egils Levits met with the Latvian section of Vatican Radio and presented Certificate of Merit to its staff. Egils Levits expressed his appreciation for Radio Vatican ‘providing vital religious and information support to the Latvian people since 1948, and especially throughout the years of totalitarian persecutions’. ‘You continue to build bridges of cooperation with Latvia’s Christian community to this day,’ said the President.