Schmitt also met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state, who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Vatican secretary for relations with states.
“The cordial talks made it possible to analyze the situation of the country, in particular the contribution of the Catholic Church to the common good, especially in the area of family and social life,” explained a communiqué issued by the Holy See.
“Also analyzed was the semester of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union and some current problems in international politics,” concluded the communiqué.
Of the close to 10 million Hungarians, 54.5% are Catholics who lived for decades under Communism. The rest of the population (around 19%) belongs to communities of the Protestant Reformation. In the last census, 11.1% did not specify their religious affiliation and 14.5% said they had no affiliation.
