1. Renato Raffaele Martino was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
23 Facts About Renato Martino
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Renato Martino served for more than twenty years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including sixteen years as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.
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Renato Martino held positions in the Roman Curia from 2002 to 2009.
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Renato Martino held a doctorate in Canon law and was fluent in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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Renato Martino entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1962, serving in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Lebanon, Canada, and Brazil.
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Renato Martino was in that post during the United States invasion of Panama, when president Manuel Noriega took refuge at the Vatican embassy.
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In June 1994, Renato Martino demanded at the UN that a "safe haven" be created for Tutsi refugees in Rwanda in order to save over 30,000 lives in Kabgayi.
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Renato Martino was Pope John Paul II's official representative at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and he had the task of defending the Church's anti-abortion teachings before a European-American bloc that strongly supported access to abortion.
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Renato Martino was able to find support from Latin-American and Arab countries that were anti-abortion, and the Cairo conference was ultimately inconclusive.
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Renato Martino was on a diplomatic mission to Ivory Coast to settle disputes there.
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On 1 October 2002, Renato Martino was named President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
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Renato Martino was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
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Renato Martino was named President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants on 11 March 2006.
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In November 2006, Martino called plans by the George W Bush administration to construct an additional 700 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border "an inhumane program".
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Renato Martino said that Muslims in Europe should respect local laws restricting the wearing of certain types of veils.
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Renato Martino took a great interest in automobiles and proclaimed the Ten Commandments for Drivers.
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Renato Martino submitted his resignation as required when he reached the age of 75.
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In July 2010, Renato Martino assumed the position of Honorary President of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a Rome-based organisation established to promote human dignity "based on the recognition that man is made in the image and likeness of God".
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In November 2010, Renato Martino was appointed by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro as Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.
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Renato Martino met with Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a Buddhist, before the Mass.
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On 12 June 2014, Renato Martino became the longest-serving cardinal deacon following the elevation of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran to the rank of Cardinal-Priest.
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Renato Martino had declined to exercise his option of taking the title of cardinal priest after ten years as a cardinal deacon.
23.
Renato Martino died in Rome on 28 October 2024, at the age of 91.