Pope gives Argentine president a papal kiss
Source: Agencies |
March 19, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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POPE Francis' diplomatic skills were expected to be put to the test yesterday as he lunched with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez: As leader of Argentina's Catholics, he had accused her government of demagoguery while she called his position on gay adoptions reminiscent of the Middle Ages and the Inquisition.
But yesterday, Fernandez gave the new pope a mate gourd and straw, to hold the traditional Argentine tea that Francis loves, and he gave her a kiss.
"Never in my life has a pope kissed me!" Fernandez said afterwards.
Fernandez called on the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires at his temporary home, the Vatican hotel on the edge of the Vatican gardens, and the two later lunched together, a day before she and other world leaders attend his installation Mass in St Peter's Square that some estimates say could bring 1 million people to Rome.
Fernandez and her predecessor and late husband Nestor Kirchner defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals, and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand. Argentina in 2010 became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages.
According to Francis' authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was politically wise enough to know the church couldn't win a straight-on fight against gay marriage, so he urged his bishops to lobby for gay civil unions. It wasn't until his proposal was shot down by the bishopse that he declared what gay activists called a "war of God" on the measure - and the church lost the issue altogether.
Fernandez issued a perfunctory message of congratulations when Francis was elected last week, calling the election of the first Latin American pope "historic" and saying she hoped that given his namesake, St Francis of Assisi, the new pope would inspire world leaders to pay greater attention to the poor and pursue dialogue rather than force to resolve disputes.
But yesterday, Fernandez gave the new pope a mate gourd and straw, to hold the traditional Argentine tea that Francis loves, and he gave her a kiss.
"Never in my life has a pope kissed me!" Fernandez said afterwards.
Fernandez called on the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires at his temporary home, the Vatican hotel on the edge of the Vatican gardens, and the two later lunched together, a day before she and other world leaders attend his installation Mass in St Peter's Square that some estimates say could bring 1 million people to Rome.
Fernandez and her predecessor and late husband Nestor Kirchner defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals, and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand. Argentina in 2010 became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages.
According to Francis' authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was politically wise enough to know the church couldn't win a straight-on fight against gay marriage, so he urged his bishops to lobby for gay civil unions. It wasn't until his proposal was shot down by the bishopse that he declared what gay activists called a "war of God" on the measure - and the church lost the issue altogether.
Fernandez issued a perfunctory message of congratulations when Francis was elected last week, calling the election of the first Latin American pope "historic" and saying she hoped that given his namesake, St Francis of Assisi, the new pope would inspire world leaders to pay greater attention to the poor and pursue dialogue rather than force to resolve disputes.
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