An interview with the radio station of ANA-MPA “104.9 FM Agency” was given by the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameus.
The Minister of Education when asked about her meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos and whether the dialogue with the Church will be put on a new basis, noted that “A new cooperation starts from scratch on the basis of a sincere relationship and with respect for the distinct roles of the State and the Church.”
These statements of the Minister come in the wake of both her meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos, as well as of the Prime Minister’s, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the new climate of cooperation and understanding that has been created between the two sides.
At her meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos, Kerameus had expressed her delight and stressed that “today is the real start of our cooperation. There is good will on the part of the State to build a new fruitful and constructive cooperation placed on a honest footing.”
He added that “the government’s intention is the resumption of dialogue aimed at discussing all issues between the State and the Church, always respecting the distinct roles.”
The Archbishop said that the dialogue committee had been successful in the past in dealing with various issues and “we have to activate it again and upgrade it, if necessary, because the committee is ahead of many things that are often simple.”
Niki Kerameus replied that the relationship would be face-to-face without any anything acting as an intermediate. She also pointed out that “the government’s aim is to safeguard the existing wage, insurance and pension rights of the clerics.”
Besides, in the meeting of the Primate of the Church of Greece with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the atmosphere was also positive and the Prime Minister had stated “I am very pleased to welcome you to the Maximos Mansion, Your Eminence, and I am very pleased to meet you. I look forward to a very effective cooperation with you. There are many issues that we must address, but always in good faith, with good mood and respecting the constitutional imperatives of Articles 3 and 13 of the Constitution, for which, I have already informed you, there will be no change in the Constitutional Review.”
