Asia News reports on Thursday's meeting of Bilateral Permanent Working Group between the Holy See and the State of Israel. The talks over implementation of the 1993 Fundamental Agreement between the Vatican and Israel are dealing with issues of Church property and taxation. Progress is slow because of the complexity of the matters, but the atmosphere of Thursday's talks in the Vatican were described as friendly, with dates for further meetings at the plenary and working levels announced.
Meanwhile the Concordat between the Holy See and Brazil signed last year entered into force on Thursday with a formal ratification ceremony in the Vatican. Zenit reports that that the agreement (full text) provides for religious education in public schools; provides tax exemptions for religious institutions; recognizes ecclesiastical decisions on issues of marriage; and recognizes ecclesiastical academic titles.
