His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel received His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States of America to Romania Adrian Zuckerman at the patriarchal residence in Bucharest on Thursday, December 19, 2019.
Ambassador Zuckerman stressed his joy and honour to carry out his diplomatic mission in Romania, the country where he was born, and expressed the wish to cultivate close ties with the Romanian Patriarchate, appreciating the social-philanthropic and cultural role played by the Orthodox Church in the Romanian society.
His Excellency mentioned the fight against human trafficking as a priority of his mandate. In this context, Patriarch Daniel emphasized that human trafficking is a form of modern slavery and a deep degradation of the human person as ‘God’s creation.’
The US Ambassador went on to appreciate in a realistic manner the current situation of the Romanian society, and expressed his hope that solutions to diminish the phenomenon of emigration, corruption and school dropout could be identified.
The Patriarch of Romania recalled the over eight hundred social institutions and programs led by the Romanian Orthodox Church, including the school camps organized within the Romanian Patriarchate which had approximately 30,000 students as beneficiaries, as well as the programs for preventing and reducing school dropout.
During the meeting, the importance of cultivating national values and freedom of religious expression was underscored.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel thanked the high guest for the very good relations between the two states, Romania and the United States of America, and pointed out the social-philanthropic tradition cultivated exemplarily by the American people.
In addition, His Beatitude said that one of the priorities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in recent years has been to intensify charitable and educational actions, recalling that 30 years after the fall of the communist regime the gift of freedom must be harmonized with the responsibility to do good by solidarity with the poor and the needy.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel congratulated the new US Ambassador for taking over his diplomatic mission in Romania, adding that His Excellency’s visit was not only formal, but also in an atmosphere of sincere cordiality.
Press office of the Romanian Patriarchate
Translated by Basilica.ro
Photography courtesy of Lumina Newspaper / Luigi Ivanciu
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