Milei sends a letter to the Pope to travel to Argentina: “You well know that you do not need an invitation”

The Argentine president, Javier Milei, has sent a letter to the Vatican to formally invite Pope Francis to visit Argentina. The far-right, who came to describe the Pontiff as an “imbecile” and “disgusting left-hander”, left the attacks behind since he arrived at the Casa Rosada and has now expressed his “highest consideration and respect” for the head of the Catholic Church. . “You well know that you do not need an invitation to come to Argentina,” says the letter dated January 8 and published this Thursday. The Pope has not visited his native country in more than 10 years of pontificate, but Argentines are attentive to his words and actions, which affect the country's politics.

“At the risk of saying the unnecessary, I invite you to visit our beloved homeland,” says the letter signed by Milei. In the letter, the president thanks the Pope for the call that the Pontiff made to him in November, after the far-right triumph in the presidential elections: “I value his wise advice and his wishes for courage and wisdom for me, so necessary to face the challenge of directing the destinies of our country.” On that occasion, the leader of La Libertad Avanza invited Francisco to visit the country for the first time. But he had previously accused him of being the “representative of the Evil One on Earth” for promoting “communism.” In his campaign events, Milei's ideological leaders had even suggested breaking relations with the Vatican.

Francisco assured in mid-2023, before Milei came to power, that he has scheduled his first visit to the country for this year. “I can confirm that she is in the program. We will see if it can be done, once the election year passes,” he told a Catholic magazine that asked him about the issue. In another interview, with the Infobae portal, he had explained: “During election time, trips are not made to the countries, to prevent the presence from being used by the ruling party for re-election or something like that. “I want to go to Argentina.”

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 86, was named auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and served as cardinal of the Argentine capital between 2001 and 2013. Since he was anointed Pope, more than a decade ago, he has not set foot in the country again. Neither during the Government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015), nor during that of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), nor during that of Alberto Fernández (2019-2023). Invitations for Francis to travel to Argentina have also been promoted for some time by the Argentine Episcopal Conference and the priests of popular neighborhoods, who have a long-standing relationship with Bergoglio.

It was the priests from popular neighborhoods who expressed their “most energetic repudiation” of the “vulgar attacks” and “lying concepts” that Milei launched against the Pope before being elected president. “My statements were made in a context when he was not yet in politics. I have no problem repeating that I regret that,” the then-candidate defended himself during one of the presidential debates. Although only a few weeks earlier, in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, he had accused the head of the Catholic Church of “having an affinity for the murderous communists” of Cuba and Venezuela and of being “on the side of bloody dictatorships.”

Milei, an ultraliberal economist who jumped from television sets to politics, had found in a Jesuit Pope, who represents one of the least conservative sectors of the Church and who has attacked neoliberalism and populism, a figure with whom to confront. On different occasions, he criticized that Francisco “defends social justice,” a concept that is at odds with the ideas of the far-right, who during the campaign promised to reduce the State to a minimum. In his first month in government, the Argentine president has implemented a strong adjustment, has imposed by decree more than 300 reforms and regulatory repeals that dismantle the State and has sent to Congress a bill that fundamentally changes a good part of the structure. political, social and economic of Argentina.

“We are aware that these decisions can deepen inequalities, so our top priority is to protect our most vulnerable compatriots, thanking the collaboration of the Catholic Church, whose action in the social field is invaluable,” states the letter announced this Thursday by the Government. Milei has not yet met with the authorities of the Catholic Church in Argentina. But Karina Milei, sister of the president and secretary of the Presidency, met with the president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, Oscar Ojea, this Monday. The head of the Secretariat of Worship, which has been the institutional communication channel between religious authorities and governments, is still vacant.

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