Malaysia’s Vatican ambassador expects normal relations

KOTA KINABALU – Malaysia’s newly appointed ambassador to the Holy See, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said that while his new role is no different from any other embassy, he expects there will be a specific focus when dealing with a world body like the Vatican.

“The embassies in other foreign countries are with countries as states, but as far as the Vatican is concerned, it is a world body, not quite a state but a community of people who have been recognized by the world as a separate entity.

“The Vatican City is the capital of the Holy See and the Holy See is the body that looks after the entire Catholic population throughout the world. I would not say that I will be any different from any other ambassador, but perhaps the job description will be different since there is nothing at the moment for us to compare with,” he said.

Malaysia was the 179th state to establish diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 2011. – ucanews.com