VATICAN CITY (AP) – The crucial role played by Pope Francis in bringing Cuba and the United States together signals that history’s first Latin American pope has no qualms about putting the Holy See on the front lines of diplomacy, especially for a cause it has long championed.
The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis wrote to President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in recent months and invited them to resolve their differences over humanitarian issues, including prisoners.
In addition, the Vatican hosted U.S. and Cuban delegations in October “and provided its good offices to facilitate a constructive dialogue on delicate matters, resulting in solutions acceptable to both parties,” the Vatican said.
In his announcement, Obama referred twice to Francis and thanked him for his involvement, saying his “moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather than simply settling for the world as it is.”
Indeed, Francis has shown he is willing to use his popularity and moral authority to do the unthinkable for a good cause. This past June he invited the Israeli and Palestinian presidents for a day of peace prayers at the Vatican, and before that agreed to requests to help facilitate talks between the Venezuelan government and opponents.