Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, and the President of Honduras, Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah, signed the Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Honduras, on Thursday, October 22, in the Treaty Hall of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

The agreement, made up of 25 articles, “consolidates the existing good bilateral relations, safeguards the legal personality of the Church, and promotes fruitful cooperation between the Church and the State in advancing the common good and the spiritual, human, and cultural values of the Honduran people,” a statement released by the Holy See Press Office explained.

Contents of the Agreement 

The agreement also seeks to further guarantee religious freedom – in line with the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 Declaration on this topic Dignitatis Humanae – including freedom of worship and the freedom of the Church to carry out its mission.

“The bilateral Agreement reaffirms the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, in accordance with international human rights instruments,” the statement emphasizes.

“The State recognizes the Church’s right to operate according to its own rules, to govern itself, and to freely appoint its ministers of religion. It also guarantees the right to conscientious objection and safeguards the inviolability of the sacramental seal, without conditions or limitations, as well as the confidentiality of pastoral workers, equivalent to that afforded to information disclosed in confession,” it continues.

“Furthermore, the Church’s right to establish educational and charitable institutions is recognized, as is its right to provide spiritual assistance and pastoral care to people residing in social care, educational, healthcare, and penitentiary institutions, whether public or private. Finally, pastoral care for members of the armed forces and police will be facilitated.”

The agreement will enter into force on the day the instruments of ratification are exchanged and is subject to the ratification procedures envisioned by both legal systems.

Signing ceremony in Apostolic Palace

Following the signing ceremony, those present held a meeting in which they discussed the Church’s positive contribution to the human, social, and cultural development of the country, as well as several matters of mutual interest at the regional and international levels.

Other attendees at the ceremony included, from the Holy See, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations; Monsignor Javier Domingo Fernández González, Chief of Protocol of the Secretariat of State; Monsignor Carlos Díaz Paniagua, Official of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations; and Monsignor Francisco Javier Díaz Tenza, Official of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations.

The Honduran delegation included Mireya Agüero de Corrales, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Juan Carlos García Medina, Minister of the Presidency; Gilliam Noemí Gómez Guifarro, Ambassador of the Republic of Honduras to the Holy See.