Middle Eastern diplomats learn Vatican's unique, complex global role

Published: 2007-05-17

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In early May, the Vatican opened its doors to 18 diplomats from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries with significant Muslim populations. The young diplomats were attending a May 7-27 introductory course on the Vatican, Vatican diplomacy and the Vatican's approach to Catholic-Muslim and intercultural dialogue. "We saw beautiful rooms in the Vatican that even my ambassador has not seen, and they allowed us to ask so many questions," said Deniz Kilicer, a career diplomat currently serving at the Turkish Embassy to the Holy See. The diplomats spent a morning in the Vatican Secretariat of State, meeting top officials in the conference room and touring the frescoed offices and halls of the Apostolic Palace. They also received a flow chart reflecting the two distinct, but related parts of the course title, "The Catholic Church and the International Policy of the Holy See."

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