Pope Francis considering Cuba visit
The Vatican says Pope Francis may add another leg to his trip to the
United States this September, visiting Cuba just months after he helped
negotiate a diplomatic thaw between the two nations.
The possibility, which would add a dimension of international
intrigue to an already highly anticipated trip, was first reported
Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.
In response to reporters' questions, Vatican spokesman the Rev.
Federico Lombardi said in a statement, "The Holy Father has taken into
consideration the idea of making a stop in Cuba" on his way to or from
the United States this September.
"However, contacts with the Cuban authorities are still in too early
a phase for it to be possible to regard this as a firm decision or an
operative plan," Lombardi continued.
Francis, the first pontiff to hail from Latin America, played a key
role in the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and
the United States, earning praise from both President Barack Obama and
Cuban President Raul Castro.
The Pope made personal pleas to Obama and Cuban leaders in private
letters, writing that the two nations should try to reset their
relations after decades of friction. The Vatican also hosted talks
between U.S. and Cuban delegations in October, where they hashed out
aspects of a new trade policy and discussed the release of jailed
American contractor Alan Gross who was freed as part of the detente
between the two countries.
"I want to thank His Holiness, Pope Francis, whose moral example
shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather
than simply settling for the world as it is," Obama said in December as
he announced the U.S. policy shift .
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has displayed a deep
interest in international affairs. He repeatedly urged Western leaders
not to bomb Syria, hosted a prayer service between Israeli and
Palestinian leaders at the Vatican and waded into diplomatic controversy
on Sunday by referring to the killing of 1.5 million Armenians a century
ago as a "genocide," a move that deeply upset Turkish leaders, who
recalled their Vatican ambassador.
The Pope is expected to continue his international activism this July
with a trip to South America, where he will visit Ecuador, Bolivia and
Paraguay.
Just a few months later, in late September, Francis will visit
Washington, where he will address Congress; New York, where he will
address the U.N. General Assembly; and Philadelphia, where he will
celebrate a public Mass that's expected to draw more than 1 million
people..
-CNN
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