Vatican City, Jun 10, 2011 / 14:30 pm
Pope Benedict welcomed new students enrolled in the Vatican’s diplomat school on June 10, telling them that the foundation of their lives and service to the Church must be based on deep, personal formation.
He emphasized that true diplomacy requires a “deep inner balance,” which entails openness, sacrifice, patience, constancy, and “even firmness in the dialogue with others.”
Pope Benedict received both teachers and students from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy which trains candidates for the Holy See diplomatic service.
He explained that pontifical diplomacy has had a long and influential tradition of shaping relations between countries across the globe.