On Tuesday, 4 June, Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State met with Joseph Simon Donnelly, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See, at the Offices of the Governorate. The Diplomat was accompanied by Paul Furgiule, Deputy Facility Manager & Post Occupational Safety and Health Officer (POSHO), Andrea Battilocchi, Supervisory Engineer and by Alyce Ahn, Political and Economic Officer of the Embassy.

Working for the good of all

Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, has received an honorary degree in human sciences from Seton Hall University. The official ceremony took place during the 168th Commencement ceremony on Tuesday, 21 May, in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA.

Pope Francis’ visit

Pope Francis’ visit to the  2^nd Feast of the Family, held on Saturday, 11 May, in San Michele Arcangelo Square in Vatican City State’s Governorate, was a welcome surprise. The Pontiff paused to speak to participants on the feast day promoted by the Governorate, and offered a special greeting to children and the elderly. He was welcomed by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State and President of the Governorate, by Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary, by Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Vice General Secretary, and by Father Franco Fontana, Director of the Community of Salesians in the Vatican and chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services and of the Vatican Museums.

A call to protect creation

The exhibition’s 24 photographs portrayed the contrast between the beauty of Creation and the damages caused by climate change to nature and to peoples throughout the world. Curated by Lia and Marianna Beltrami in cooperation with the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si’ Centre for Higher Education, the photographs, which were exhibited in the Charlemagne Wing of Saint Peter’s Square, were part of the project, “Emotions to Generate Change”. The exhibition was open to the public from 7 to 24 May.

Premessa

Il 19 settembre 2016 la Santa Sede, agendo anche in nome e per conto dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, ha aderito alla Convenzione delle Nazioni Unite contro la Corruzione (cd. Convenzione di Mérida) con l’intento di “contribuire e dare il suo sostegno morale alla prevenzione globale, alla repressione ed alla persecuzione di tale crimine^[1]”.