The Argentine president, Javier Mileisaid this Saturday that he hopes to have a “very fruitful dialogue” with Pope Francis, whom he described as “the most important Argentine in history,” after having openly criticized him during the electoral campaign.
“Let’s have a dialogue very fruitful” with Pope Francis, “like the one we had when we talked on the phone”Milei predicted in relation to the meeting that will take place this Sunday in dialogue with the radio Miterfrom Italy.
READ ALSO: The economy joins security as Bukele’s main challenges in his new mandate
Milei had described the pope in campaign as the “representative of evil on Earth”among other disqualifications, while Pope Bergoglio has downplayed the ultraliberal’s accusations, admitting that “These are things that are said in election campaign”and in fact it was he who picked up the phone to congratulate him after his presidential election.
Milei He described it this Saturday as “the most important Argentine in history” and that you can’t “losing that perspective”.
“I hope that your holiness’s health is in good condition so that you can come visit the Argentines“he added Mileiin reference to an eventual visit by the Argentine pope to his native country, to which he has not returned since his election in 2013, because “Moral support is very important in a country with so much roots in Catholicism”.
In response to the query Milei If I could talk to the Pope about reaching “consensus“, at a time when the president maintains a confrontation with the deputies who prevented him this week from approving the ‘law bus‘ with which he intended to lay the foundations of his government, responded that “You cannot get caught up in ideological quarrels, especially as a spiritual leader”.
Milei gave this interview from Italy, where he arrived from Israel early Friday afternoon. This is the second trip abroad for the president who took office last December 10, after his time at the Davos Forum.
The first official act of his trip will be the canonization this Sunday of the first Argentine saint, the laywoman María Antonia de San José Paz y Figueroaknown as Mama Antulain a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican at 9:30 (08:30 GMT) and where he will have a greeting with Francis.
Francisco will receive Milei on Monday, at 9:00 (8:00 GMT), in a private audience at the Apostolic Palacea face to face whose atmosphere will also be discussed by the gestures and minutes of meeting between the two.
The president, as required by protocol, will also meet with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
On his official visit to Italy, the Argentine will meet on Monday at 1:30 p.m. (12:30 GMT) with the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in the Roman Quirinale Palace. And then, with the prime minister, the far-right Giorgia Meloniwho has praised him on several occasions.
In addition to his sister, Milei is accompanied by the chancellor, Diana Mondino; the head of the Interior, Guillermo Francos; that of Human Capital, Sandra Pettovello; the Secretary of Worship, Francisco Sanchezand the ambassador to Israel, Rabbi Axel Wahnish.
