In an interview with a local radio station, Argentina’s ambassador to the Vatican Juan Pablo Cafiero praised the decision by Pope Francis to renew his passport as a regular Argentine and said the first South American pontiff in history might visit the country next year in an event the diplomat considered would be “massive and unforgettable.”
“The Pope gives us surprises every day, he makes us feel very proud,” Cafiero told reporters from the Del Plata radio station explaining Jorge Bergoglio called him personally to tell him that “he had some trips scheduled” and that he wanted to “keep travelling with the Argentinean passport.” The pope is planning a visit to the Holy Land in May and is likely to prioritize Asia and Africa as his future destinations, the ambassador added.
“And for 2016 it is scheduled –so has been said, not yet for sure-, a visit to Argentina, specially to the province of Tucumán to take part in the Eucharistic Congress,” Cafiero added. Next year Argentina will mark the 200th anniversary of the country’s declaration of independence with the ambassador considering Francis’ tour here an event that could turn “massive and memorable.”
The politician said he finds “substantial changes” in the Vatican since the appointment of Beroglio to lead the Roman Catholic Church last year, stressing that the pope deals with all matters “personally” with ambassadors from other countries “finding in him a very important interlocutor.”
Cafiero granted the interview a few days after ex Domestic Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno flew to Rome after being designated an economic attaché at Argentina’s embassy at the Vatican. “Everything is set for a reunion to take place in the most cordial way possible, as it should be,” the diplomat affirmed.
buenosairesherald.com