{"id":535,"date":"2012-07-13T20:07:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T20:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/friendship-with-pope-one-of-italian-presidents-greatest-highlights\/"},"modified":"2012-07-13T20:07:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-13T20:07:00","slug":"friendship-with-pope-one-of-italian-presidents-greatest-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/07\/friendship-with-pope-one-of-italian-presidents-greatest-highlights\/","title":{"rendered":"Friendship with Pope one of Italian president\u2019s greatest highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jul 13, 2012 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- He may be an ex-communist and avowed atheist but Italy\u2019s President Giorgio Napolitano says becoming friends with Pope Benedict XVI has been a highlight of his six years as the Italian head of state.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI do not hesitate to confess that one of the loveliest elements that has marked my experience has been, precisely, my relationship with Benedict XVI,\u201d he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in a July 11 interview.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tPresident Napolitano has been in office since 2006, a year after the election of Pope Benedict XVI. The two men are of similar age, with the Italian president being only two years older than the 85-year-old pontiff.<\/p>\n

\tOn Wednesday of this week, the Pope and president spent much of the day together at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, about 15 miles south of Rome. There they co-hosted a concert by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, led by conductor Daniel Barenboim, to mark St. Benedict\u2019s Day. After the musical performance the two men dined together.<\/p>\n

\tIt is such personal encounters, said President Napolitano, that he is \u201cprofoundly grateful for\u201d because they \u201cplucked at our human heart strings.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cToday, for example, we have spent a moment together characterized, precisely, by so much simple humanity,\u201d he said towards end of the evening. \u201cWe strolled together, we spoke to each other like people who have a relationship of forthright friendship, with all the respect that I have for him and for his most lofty ministry, for his most exalted mission.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe Italian president\u2019s role in the government is usually one that is largely ceremonial, but during Europe\u2019s recent economic crisis President Napolitano has played a direct role in upholding Italy\u2019s constitution and government.<\/p>\n

\tIn November 2011, he decided to appoint former European Union commissioner Mario Monti as Italian prime minister after the fall of Silvio Berlusconi\u2019s administration. His executive actions led the New York Times to dub him \u201cKing George.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPart of the reason why we feel close is because we are both called to govern complex situations,\u201d the president said, analyzing his friendship with Pope Benedict.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Pope, of course, in addition to being a \u2018head of State\u2019 is also and above all the head of the universal Church,\u201d but President Napolitano observed that he finds himself \u201cat the helm of the institutions of the Italian Republic in an extraordinarily difficult period.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOne particular highlight that the president said he \u201cwill always cherish\u201d as a \u201clegacy\u201d of his presidency was Pope Benedict\u2019s 2011 address to the Italian people to mark the 150th anniversary of the country\u2019s unification.<\/p>\n

\tThe president said he expected a \u201ccordial and formal\u201d speech but, instead, he received a \u201cdemanding\u201d address from the Pope that gave an overview of Italian history.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis really shows that in Italy the state and the church, the people of the Republic and the people of the Church, are very deeply and closely united,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jul 13, 2012 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- He may be an ex-communist and avowed atheist but Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano says becoming friends with Pope Benedict XVI has been a highlight of his six years as the Italian head o…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nFriendship with Pope one of Italian president\u2019s greatest highlights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jul 13, 2012 \/ 02:07 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- He may be an ex-communist and avowed atheist but Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano says becoming friends with Pope Benedict XVI has been a highlight of his six years as the Italian head o...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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