Meeting of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Ivan Brajović, with Pope Francis is not an official state meeting, as suggested in a statement from the head of parliament's office. Brajović was among the 30-40 people who during the general audience had the opportunity to greet the head of the Catholic Church thanks to the request of the Ambassador of Montenegro to the Holy See, Miodrag Vlahović, to the Vatican protocol.
Drago Pilsel, a theologian and journalist from Zagreb, explained to "Vijesti" that general audiences are organized every Wednesday in the Vatican, in the winter in the great hall of Paul VI, which can accommodate 5000-6000 people, while during warm and sunny days, as it was the day before yesterday, they organize in St. Peter's Square.
"You come to a certain office in the Vatican, as a tourist, and say that you are a Catholic from New Zealand or Montenegro and that you want an audience with the Pope. Then you will be in that large crowd standing on the side, between which the pope passes in his popemobile and waves, occasionally gets down and shakes hands with the faithful. Every Wednesday in his catechesis, he interprets the Gospel to the masses of believers, so he gives lessons, points out some problem... If there is a large group among the visitors, for example from Brazil, he greets them especially. This Wednesday, when your President of the Assembly was there, as I recall, the Pope greeted a group of scouts from the Czech Republic," Pilsel explained. When that ends, said Pilsel, who is also the editor of the "autograph" website, the pope is greeted by certain persons for whom the accredited embassies have requested the Vatican protocol.
"Therefore, 30-40 people stand in line and the pope greets them courteously, shakes hands with them and it lasts a maximum of two minutes. The President of the Parliament of Montenegro was one of a number of people who greeted the Pope thanks to your ambassador who, as an accredited person, had the right to be there at the audience as well. The Pope takes the rosary from the tray, which is held on the left side, and presents it to those persons as a sign of attention," Pilsel said.
He added that these people sometimes also give the pope a certain gift as a sign of attention, noting that he will hardly remember any of the 500 or so people who greeted him during the general audience. Official audiences, Pilsel said, are held on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace, where the famous terrace is located, in a special hall for official meetings.
"This is where the pope receives presidents of states or governments, some distinguished personalities, Nobel laureates, people dedicated to ecology, because this pope is particularly concerned about protecting the environment... The pope has official visits every working day, except Wednesday," Pilsel said. The Assembly announced the day before yesterday that Brajović "met in the Vatican with the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, on which occasion the importance of the harmonious coexistence of members of different religions, nations and cultures that modern Montenegro cherishes was once again expressed."
"During the conversation with the Pope, I expressed my pleasure and honor about the meeting, not only because he is the head of the Catholic Church, but also because at a time when the whole world is facing a serious crisis, he is promoting humanity as a supreme being with his messages and personal example value. I especially emphasized to Pope Francis that he would do Montenegro a great honor with his visit and that we expect him during the next year", the parliament announced the day before yesterday.
Pope Francis, as further stated, told President Brajović, among other things, that Montenegro has a special place for him because he was ordained in 1992 in Argentina by Bishop Emilio Ognjenović, originally from Montenegro. As he writes, Brajović presented the Holy Father with the first copy of the ceremonial edition of the "Mountain Wreath", translated into Italian by Veljko Mićović, which was published by the Parliament of Montenegro on this occasion.
Brajović met yesterday in the Apostolic Palace with the State Secretary of the Holy See, Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher.
Pilsel said that we are talking about official meetings with persons who are the prime minister and the head of diplomacy of the Vatican.
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