Pope Francis has expressed pleasure at meeting “a wise man” after a private audience with the Uruguayan president, Jose Mujica, an atheist.
Mujica, a former guerilla fighter, has been described as “the world’s ‘poorest’ president”. He donates 90 per cent of his salary to charities, lives with his wife in a modest farmhouse instead of the presidential palace and drives himself in a decades-old Volkswagen Beetle).
Wearing a blue shirt with no tie, a green sweater and a dark jacket, Mujica, 78, was received very warmly by the Pope.
Before they walked in for their private meeting, they took a few minutes to remember Uruguayan theologian and writer Alberto Methol Ferré, a “common friend” recently deceased, who for decades was an advisor to the Vatican.
The 45-minute audience was the longest Pope Francis has had with a head of state.
Afterwards, Mujica said of the Pope: “I think that if they let him, he’s going to make a revolution inside the Church, towards simplicity.”
He added that meeting the Pope was “just like talking to a good neighbour you’ve known for years”.
Mujica described the meeting as very positive, admitting the significance and influence of the Catholic Church in Latin America, and underlined “it was essential to have fluid relations with the Church”.
The Uruguayan president said he humbly asked the Pope, in humanitarian terms, to have the Church involved in the peace process of Colombia. “The process must continue and be successful, because it is crucial for the Colombian people and the whole of the Americas,” he said.
Regarding Uruguay, Mujica talked with Pope Francis about the priority of sustaining the battle against hard-core poverty since it is not a question of money.
“The state can send people to help but can’t ensure love and care, so this requires the commitment of many groups, and that is what I’m asking from the Church, a militant presence,” he said.
Sources:
Jose Mujica (Wikipedia)
Image: Merco Press
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