"I thank this Church for the contribution that it has made to the field of the construction of justice, of social solidarity for a more humane, fraternal and united Portugal; a ‘thank you’ from all the Portuguese," he said.
At the end of a visit to the Seventh-day Adventist Church - Central Lisbon, where he attended the religious celebration - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa confirmed that he has assumed as a principle of his mandate the "proximity not only to people but also to religious communities as to those who have no belief or faith. "
The President of the Republic said that his next initiative in this context will be in "commemoration of 50 years of the Islamic community in Portugal" and the next will be with the Lutheran community.
Before the beginning of the religious celebration by the pastor António Amorim, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made an intervention before the evangelical community, in which he recalled the Portuguese legal and constitutional framework that regulates religious freedom.
The President of the Republic pointed out that the Portuguese society "is open to religious pluralism", with "instruments that guarantee a fair treatment of the various churches and creeds."
"The public authorities do not adopt any religion, but the State assumes, among others, the duty of collaboration with the Churches and religious communities based in Portugal, considering their representativeness and with a view of promoting the rights of the people, the integral development of each person, and the values of peace, freedom, solidarity and tolerance, "he said.
"The values and principles proclaimed by collecting the influx of Christianity are the values and principles of human dignity and the solidarity shown in the developed care action," he said.
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who received a copy of the 200-year-old Bible, that set of values "is a meeting point between the Portuguese State and the Seventh-day Adventist Church" which, he pointed out, "has an old history and an illustrious lineage ", being integrated and respected in Portuguese society.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been in Portugal since 1904 when the first missionaries arrived. It currently has 116 Churches and groups, with 9,300 members and a community of 12,000 people. As part of its social action, it manages five educational establishments, four homes and day centers for the elderly.