The Government, in a note posted on its Facebook, said that these legal and administrative instruments "will allow the recognition of the canonical marriage and its validity in the Angolan legal system, enable the organization and functioning of educational institutions belonging to the Catholic Church, as well as creating conditions for the effective implementation of a tax regime applicable to the Catholic Church".
In addition, this agreement will also enable "the facilitation of entry visas into Angola for missionaries and cadres of different levels at the service of the Catholic Church."
The delivery of the documents, according to the note, was carried out by the minister of State and Head of the Civil House of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, to the Apostolic Nuncio in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Dom Giovanni Gaspari.
During the act, which took place at the Dr. Agostinho Neto Memorial, the minister clarified that the agreement and its instruments are already in force, being "formalized for the purposes of application in the Republic of Angola, several important aspects of the relationship between the State and Santa If you want to be ever closer and more solid".
"The Republic of Angola is a secular State, and we all know in its constitutional consecration that the secularity of the State is usually characterized as the separation between the State and the churches. Perhaps it is time to rethink this concept, because, in fact, , the State does not establish a relationship of separation, but of cooperation between the State and the Church, in this case the Catholic Church," said Adão de Almeida.
The minister stated that the State "continues to rely on this strategic partnership of the Holy See and the Catholic Church", so that together they are able to "deal better with the problems and challenges of the present and be able to build a future each time better and with more hope for everyone".
According to the note, the official also acknowledged that the partnership between the State and the Catholic Church is "historical and secular, with a remarkable social role of the church in the country in the most diverse domains".
In turn, Bishop Giovanni took the opportunity to thank the formal delivery of the documents: "I thank the technicians of the two commissions, intergovernmental and ecclesiastical, who carried out this important work. I am sure that they will continue the work of implementing the Framework Agreement, especially in the other areas, such as higher education and health".
The president of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé CEAST, Dom José Manuel Imbamba, indicated that the instruments now handed over will enable the church to continue working for the "common good, without intending to replace the task of the State".
