Bolaños wishes the Pope "a lot of strength" on his second visit to the Vatican in two months

• Government Bolaños discusses sexual abuse in the Church with the Pope but not the Government's new abortion law

The Minister of the Presidency, Relations with Parliament and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, in his capacity as Minister responsible for relations with the Catholic Church, attended this weekend the eighth Ordinary Public Consistory of Pope Francis, in which The Spaniard

has been ordained cardinal .

Before the ceremony, Pope Francis greeted the minister, whom he received in a private audience on June 13, as well as the rest of the authorities who have headed the different delegations attending the consistory on behalf of their countries.

for some months

that prevents him from walking and standing for a long time.

Francisco confirmed that he had come walking, and the minister then responded with an effusive: "Fantastic."

However, the Pope told him that it is very difficult for him to get up, and Bolaños then asked him if he was in pain.

"I'm very glad to see you, a lot of strength," the Minister of the Presidency wished him before saying goodbye with a handshake.

"Dialogue and reach agreements with the Church"

In a meeting with journalists this Sunday at the Spanish embassy to the

this Sunday, Bolaños confirmed that he saw Francis "with desire, strength, courage and good humor."

"We wish him all the best in his pontificate and that he continues on the path of work that he is carrying out.

Likewise, he has defended that the Government's will is to "dialogue and reach agreements with the Catholic Church",

"The relationship with the Catholic Church is a cordial relationship, of collaboration, of dialogue, of working with issues where we can have different positions, but we make an effort to get closer and we can have positions that find a balance; that is where we are and where we are going. to be from the Government of

always with the Catholic Church".

Bolaños leads the dialogue table on the part of the Government in the open commissions with the Spanish Episcopal Conference in reference to registrations in the registry of real estate owned by the Church;

and the taxation and management of the patrimony of the

Regarding the area of ​​the immatriculation of assets, he has defended that "he has already obtained a result".

"Around 20,000 assets that the Church registered as places of worship, there were another 15,000 (14,000 and odd) that were not places of worship. Of those 14,000, 1,000 were recognized as having been registered without a sufficient evidentiary basis," he summarized .

Asked about the Government's intentions in relation to the heritage of 250 buildings in the center of Rome, the result of donations made to the Church in the past, Bolaños assured that currently "work is being done and documents are being discussed and exchanged."

"It is good that we respect the times of negotiation and dialogue, that we work discreetly. There are proposals on the table. There are proposals that I do not hide from you at this time that have different points of view, different conceptions, of what to be the Obra Pía", said Bolaños.

The Obra Pía is an entity of private law and Spanish nationality, whose legal regime depends on the Catholic Church, but which is protected, and therefore managed, by the Spanish embassy to the Holy See.

In total, it owns the property of about 250 properties, both buildings and commercial premises, distributed throughout the streets of the center of

Almost all properties are rented.

The Minister of the Presidency has considered that Obra Pía "is working reasonably well with the governing body that it currently has" and has stated that "what is important" is that both the "maintenance in perfect conditions" of the heritage and also "the fulfillment of ends".

"So far, to date we are doing it scrupulously."

"The Government and the embassy of the Holy See fulfill the purpose of the Pious Work, that is the idea", he has settled.

In the same way, he has assured that "the idea is to maintain that heritage that is owned by the Obra Pía".

"What we want is that any change in that legal regime comes as a result of an agreement and a dialogue with the Catholic Church that can improve that regime," she stressed.

"Everything can be perfected, everything can be improved but, in any case, the operation of the Obra Pía at this time is a reasonable operation that meets its goals," he concluded.

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