What the newspapers say: September 8, 2008

Romania's President Traian Basescu did not miss the chance to invite Pope Benedict XVI to Romania while in an official visit at the Vatican, Cotidianul reads. 10 years after Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the country, it looks like his successor might repeat the process.

However, the newspaper reads that Basescu did not have the approval of the Romanian Orthodox Church for the invitation. Romanian news agency Mediafax informs, quoting sources within the presidential administration that Basescu reiterated the invitation submitted back in 2006.

Basescu took the chance to thank the Pope for his attitude towards migration and for his support for the Romanian community in Italy. In an official press release, Romanian Orthodox Church representatives declared that the Patriarch had a telephone conversation with Basescu and they agreed that such an invitation is possible at the level of the state.

What's more, the press release underlines the fact that Basescu will need the approval of the Holy Synod like in the case of the invitation of Pope John Paul II in Romania back in 1999. According to the Vatican's protocol, in order for a Pope to be able to visit a non-Catholic country, he needs the approval of the Church and not that of the State he is to visit.

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