Italian President invites new Italian Cardinals to lunch at the Quirinale Palace
(Vatican Radio) The President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, on Wednesday hosted a lunch at the Quirinale Palace for the newly-created Italian Cardinals: The Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo,Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli; and the Archbishop of Agrigento, Cardinal Francesco Montenegro.
Also attending the lunch was the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Italy, Archbishop Adriano Bernardini.
The discussions were “friendly”, and touched on the economic crisis affecting Italy, especially the country’s young people, as well as the situation of refugees arriving from across the Mediterranean, who are often people fleeing areas devastated by war and conflict.
Cardinal Montenegro, who serves as the President of “Fondazione Migrantes” as well has heading the Commission for Migration for the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), has been urging the member states of the European Union to collaborate on effective measures to help refugees, especially in providing emergency assistance to asylum seekers, protecting unaccompanied minors, facilitating family reunification, and battling people-smugglers and human-traffickers.
Cardinal Montenegro and Cardinal Menicheilli received their red hats at the Consistory help on February 14th this year.