This morning Pope Francis received in audience the prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
According to a statement from the Vatican, the discussions included “the good bilateral relations between the Netherlands and the Holy See.”
As well, “the parties focused on questions of mutual interest such as the phenomenon of migration, and considered various issues of an international character.”
According to estimates from a 2009 census, some 42% of the population of the Netherlands does not declare allegiance to any religion. Catholics make up 28% of the population and Protestants another 19%.
