Vatican City, May 17, 2010 / 08:15 am
Bolivian president Evo Morales was in the Vatican on Monday morning for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Besides the formalities of the visit, the president made suggestions as to how the Church might modify the priesthood.
The leader of Bolivia was accompanied on his first visit to the Vatican by seven others, including the head of his cabinet and the country’s ambassador to the Holy See, during his nearly 30-minute visit with the Holy Father in the Papal Library.
Journalists described the president as “very courteous” during the encounter, referring always to the Pope as “Holiness” and thanking him effusively for hosting him and his entourage. He told the Pope that he was “surprised and honored” for the chance to have an audience.
According to a statement from the Vatican following the encounter, discussions included a “fruitful exchange of opinions” on international and regional politics and the need for a greater social and ecological sensibility.