A year and a half after establishing diplomatic relations between the
Vatican and Malaysia, Pope Benedict XVI named the United States
Archbishop Joseph Marino as papal nuncio in this country.
The first ambassador of the Holy See in Kuala Lumpur will be installed
in the Nunciature capital, from which he also be in charge of the office
for Timor Leste, according to a note released by Channel News Asia.
For years, Malaysia has been one of the few countries with no formal relations with the Vatican.
It has a population of 28 million people, of whom 2.5 million are Christians and of those, 850,000 are Catholics.
Meanwhile, Malaysian law prohibits proselytizing among Muslims, who
make up 60 percent of its total population, but allows freedom of
worship.