Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See recognition from the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See's Secretariat of State issued a statement clarifying that "other than its own Equestrian Orders... the Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta... and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre". All other self-styled chivalric orders, the statement continued, "whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See" and "the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures... to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Holy See relations a national reconciliation process could take place. He also talked about the increase in relations between the Holy See and DR Congo. In May 2016, the governments of the DRC and the Vatican signed an agreement regarding matters of common interest, consisting of 21 articles. Those included the institutions of Catholic education, teaching of religion in schools, welfare and charitable activities of the Church, pastoral care in the armed forces and prison and hospital institutions, as well as property tax and the obtaining of entry visas and residence permits for religious personnel. The document also establishes the legal position of