ROME, ITALY. Pope Francis has asked the Speaker of Parliament to stick to standards laid down in the Bible and promote laws that cater for economic freedom and social justice.
The Pope made the call during a private meeting with Speaker Anita Annet Among at the Vatican in Rome on Tuesday.
“I urge you to continue standing by your strong Christian values and always promote legislation that will ensure freedom of worship, economic freedom and social justice as exemplified in the Bible. As a parliamentarian always be sensitive to decisions and legislation that separate people from the will of God,’’ the Supreme Pontiff said.
“I will continue praying for you for continued God’s Blessings. I recall you came here last time as a Deputy Speaker but now I learnt that you are the Speaker of the Parliament in Uganda,” the head of the Holy See said.
Ms Among thanked the Holy Father for his prayers and blessings and extended warm greetings from President Museveni and the people of Uganda.
She appreciated the Pope for according her a private audience at the Vatican.
The Pope is head of the worldwide Catholic Church and also serves as head of state of the Vatican City State, established since the eighth century.
‘’Your Holiness, I thank you for your continued blessings from when I came here in August 2021 after being elected Deputy Speaker, and now Speaker of Parliament. I pledge to remain steadfast in the values of the Church and pledge my commitment to promoting ethical principles of distributive justice, procedural justice and interactive justice for the people I represent,” Ms Among said.
Ms Among was elected as the new Speaker of Parliament on March 25, 2022, replacing Jacob Oulanyah, who died in Seattle, Washington State in USA, on March 20, 2022.
Ms Among was accompanied to the Vatican by MPs Herbert Ariko of Soroti City East, Francis Mwijukye of Buhweju County, and Lucy Akello of Amuru District.
Besides meeting the Pope, the team attended a five-day International Christian Legislators Conference in Rome, which ran from August 25 to 29.
The Pope later blessed and waved to rapturous Christians who had gathered and waited to meet him.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor as a young man before training to be a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory.
Francis became the first pope from the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first from outside Europe since Gregory III, a Syrian, who reigned in the 8th century.
