Pastries and biscuits as Argentina's Milei makes up with Pope Francis
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[February 12, 2024]
By Alvise Armellini
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Argentina's President Javier Milei visited his
compatriot Pope Francis and senior Vatican officials on Monday, bearing
pastries and biscuits and talking politics as he seeks to make up with
the pontiff he had long derided.
Milei, a maverick right-wing libertarian, had heaped insults on Francis
during his vote campaign last year, calling him an "imbecile who defends
social justice". But the president has shifted tone in office as he
tries to shore up support among his conservative Catholic base amid
mounting challenges.
Francis and Milei spoke for about one hour, the Vatican said, without
giving details of the conversation.
They met as Argentina faces its worst economic crisis in decades, with
inflation at more than 200% and the newly installed Milei in difficulty
following parliamentary rejection of a major reform package.
The president discussed "the new (Argentine) government's program to
counter the economic crisis" among other topics, during separate talks
with the Vatican's second-in-command, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, a Vatican statement said.
Before the meeting, when asked about the past insults, the head of the
Vatican's doctrine office said: "The Pope is a person who has a lot of
affection for everyone, so there's no question about him having any
animosity."
The pope had seen the past comments "as a campaign strategy" Cardinal
Victor Manuel Fernandez, who is also Argentine, told journalists. Even
if the pope may not like "some political and ideological trends" in
Argentina, "he will always be concerned about those who suffer," he
added.
ARGENTINE VISIT IN FOCUS
Francis, a former archbishop of Buenos Aires, has angered some of his
compatriots by not visiting his homeland since becoming pope in 2013.
He has said he may finally travel to "suffering" Argentina in the second
half of this year - though Cardinal Fernandez said on Monday it was
unclear whether the papal trip would happen "because it depends on a lot
of things".
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Pope Francis meets Argentine President Javier Milei at the Vatican,
February 12, 2024. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
Securing such a visit could be major boost to Milei as he seeks to
please his conservative Catholic supporters.
Francis has previously said he did not want to be politically
exploited by Argentine politicians. On Friday, he said "radical
individualism" permeates society like a "virus", in words that may
jar with Milei's radical free-market instincts.
But the meetings on Monday, and earlier over the weekend, appeared
to go well.
Milei brought alfajores de dulce de leche pastries and a brand of
lemon biscuits the pope likes on Monday, presidential spokesman
Manuel Adorni said.
On Sunday, they talked at the end of a canonisation Mass in St
Peter's Basilica for the first female Argentine saint, Maria Antonia
de Paz y Figueroa, an 18th century consecrated lay woman better
known as "Mama Antula".
Francis, who is 87 and has difficulty walking, was in a wheelchair
as he went to greet Milei after the service. He smiled, extended his
hand and told him, "You cut your hair!"
Milei, who still wears his hair unconventionally long for a
politician, joked about having cleaned up his act and asked if he
could hug and kiss the pope. A smiling Francis replied: "Yes, son,
yes".
He hailed the pope as "the most important Argentine in history" in
an interview on Saturday.
(Additional reporting by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Andrew
Heavens)
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