UAE’s first woman ambassador to Vatican
May 20th, 2010 - 7:03 pm ICT by IANSVatican City, May 20 (DPA) A mother of six who has been appointed as the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first ambassador to the Vatican Thursday presented her credentials to Pope Benedict XVI.
The pontiff welcomed Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al-Otaiba and recalled how diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the mostly Muslim Gulf state had “only recently been established” in 2007.
Benedict praised the “openness” of the UAE towards foreign workers, some 1 million of whom are Christians, including many Catholics from the Philippines.
“I would like to note here with satisfaction that there are several Catholic churches (in the UAE) built on lands donated by the public authorities,” Benedict said.
“Freedom of worship contributes significantly to the common good and brings social harmony to all those societies where it is practiced,” the pontiff added.
Al-Otaiba, 51, is also currently the UAE’s ambassador to Spain. Besides her native Arabic, she speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, the Vatican said.
- Pope prays for world peace on Christmas - Dec 25, 2011
- Pope blesses worshippers via Twitter - Feb 24, 2012
- John Paul II beatified (Lead) - May 01, 2011
- UAE launches e-visa system in Spain - May 05, 2012
- Pope John Paul II To Be Beatified By Vatican On May 1 - Jan 15, 2011
- UAE participates in global microcredit summit in Spain - Nov 18, 2011
- Vatican mulling Arabic and Russian versions of website - Aug 10, 2010
- Hague court asked to prosecute Pope over sex abuse - Sep 14, 2011
- Vatican urges prudence in assessing WikiLeaks documents - Dec 14, 2010
- Bruni praises Pope over condoms comment to mark World AIDS Day - Dec 02, 2010
- Pope signs letter on child abuse cases in Ireland - Mar 19, 2010
- Pope travels to Britain for four-day visit - Sep 16, 2010
- Pope urges Pakistan to scrap blasphemy law - Jan 10, 2011
- Monument of John Paul II unveiled in Moscow - Oct 15, 2011
- Pope Benedict XVI wraps up his visit to Spain - Aug 22, 2011
Tags: abdulla, benedict xvi, catholic churches, catholics, christians, credentials, diplomatic relations, english spanish, first woman, openness, pontiff, pope benedict, pope benedict xvi, public authorities, social harmony, uae, united arab emirates, vatican, vatican city, woman ambassador