WORLD : Hungary Resumes Diplomatic Ties With Vatican After 40 Years
Hungary and the Vatican formally ended more than 40 years of estrangement today by restoring diplomatic relations.
Hungary is the second Warsaw Pact country to resume ties with the Holy See. Poland did so last July.
An accord reestablishing the ties, which were severed after World War II, was signed at Hungary’s Parliament by Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Agostino Casaroli.
Envoys are expected to be named after elections March 25 and April 8, Hungary’s first national multiparty elections since 1947.
Nemeth, speaking at a joint news conference with Casaroli, said he hopes that renewal of ties will bolster the success of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Hungary, planned for the autumn of 1991.
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