Vatican City, Mar 9, 2005 / 22:00 pm
This morning, Pope John Paul welcomed Felix Oudiane, Senegal’s new ambassador, to the Vatican, noting that country’s commitment to “seeking and consolidating peace in Africa.”
Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano received the ambassador in the name of the Pope who remains in Rome’s Gemelli hospital following a February 24th tracheotomy surgery.
Cardinal Sodano gave the diplomat a copy of the Pope's welcome speech, in which the Holy Father notes Senegal’s "long tradition of coexistence among all the communities of which the nation is composed.”
“I am pleased”, the Pope wrote, “with the promising results of efforts made in your country to fortify civil peace, and to eliminate all those elements which can give rise to dissention and violent confrontation. It is essential that all inhabitants are able to live in security and harmony."