Cuba reiterated the will to continue strengthening relations with the Holy See, on the occasion of the 10-year pontificate of the Pope Francisco this Monday.
He Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) congratulated Francisco on Twitter, who on March 13, 2013 became the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church, as recalled by a report from the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
We congratulate Pope Francis on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his Pontificate. #Cuba ?? reiterates its willingness to continue advancing relations with the Holy See. pic.twitter.com/FhH27O0yRt
— Cuban Foreign Ministry (@CubaMINREX) March 13, 2023
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took over as Francis, visited the island for the first time in September 2015. Both his role and that of the Catholic Church had been central to the process of dialogue and normalization of Cuba-United States relations, announced in December of 2014.
In 2016, Francis returned to Cuba to meet with Kirill, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, with whom he signed a joint declaration to put into practice “the ecumenism of charity”, that is, the common commitment of Christians to build a humanity. more fraternal.
Of the thousands of audiences, the hundreds of visits to dioceses and parishes, and the forty apostolic trips to all corners of the planet, the Pope keeps a precise memory in his heart, notes the media Vatican News.
Latin America
Only in Latin America, in addition to Cuba, Francisco adds visits to Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Panama.
Most of these nations greeted the pontiff on the anniversary, though some governments also mark the moment with notable differences. It is the case of Nicaragua.
According to the Holy See media, a few hours before this March 13, a suspension of diplomatic relations had been proposed between the Vatican and Nicaragua.
The Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the Ortega government was requesting the closure of their respective diplomatic headquarters. “This is not a break in relations, as some media had announced,” says this source.
Given this, from Rome they recall that a year ago the apostolic nuncio in Managua, Monsignor Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag, had been expelled from Managua.
“The Holy See never leaves. They kick her out. He always tries to save diplomatic relations and save what can be saved with patience and dialogue,” Francisco told the Spanish newspaper in December 2022. abc.
10 years
Now, for this anniversary and as published by the VaticanNews In his message this Monday, the Pope calls for peace for the world and mentioned three words that correspond to his dreams for the Church, the world and humanity: brotherhood, tears and smiles.
“Time is rushing, I don’t know if it says pressuroso or pressante in Italian, it’s in a hurry. And when you want to grab today, it’s already yesterday. And if you want to catch tomorrow, it hasn’t arrived yet. And you stay in this tension of a today that is yesterday and not tomorrow. Living like this is something new. I think these ten years have been like this… today thinking about my ten years: yes, yes, but it’s this state, come on! A tension, living in tension,” Franciso said, according to the Italian source.
