The Pope gestures to Milei when receiving him for an hour in the Vatican

The insults to the Pontiff, who knows if because he never imagined that he would actually become president of his country, reached a level never seen before. “Representative of evil on Earth”, “son of a bitch who preaches communism”, “bad bastard”. These are just three examples of the belligerence that Javier Milei, the new president of Argentina, used for a long time to refer to Pope Francis before arriving at the Casa Rosada. This Monday, at nine in the morning, now the top leader of Jorge Mario Bergoglio's native country, Milei appeared at the Vatican and met, with a different tone and for the first time, with the Pontiff for an hour: a time reserved for the meetings in which the Pope is most interested. In fact, he never dedicated so much space to his meetings with the predecessors of the current president Cristina Fernández Kirchner, Mauricio Macri or Alberto Fernández.

Francisco wanted to take down the insults at the time and assured that they are things that are said in an electoral campaign. In political matters he is pragmatic and dialogue-oriented. And even more so if they refer to his homeland. In fact, one of the keys to the visit was the invitation that Milei planned to give to Francisco to visit Argentina in the near future. The Pope had always left that possibility aside from his priorities, but lately his interest has increased. The statement issued by the Vatican, however, gave no clues on this matter. “During the cordial conversations at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was expressed for the good relations between the Holy See and the Argentine Republic and the desire to strengthen them even further. Next, they focused on the new Government's program to confront the economic crisis. In the continuation of the conversation, several international issues were addressed, in particular current conflicts and the commitment to peace between nations.”

Milei went to see Francisco accompanied by his sister and general secretary of the Presidency, Karina Milei; the chancellor, Dinana Mondino; the ministers of the Interior and Human Capital, Guillermo Francos and Sandra Pettovello, respectively; Rabbi Axel Wahnish and the Secretary of Worship, Francisco Sánchez. The Argentine president arrived in a bit of a hurry to the meeting. The reason, fundamentally, is that he ordered the official car in which he was traveling to stop while it was traveling along the Via della Conciliazione to take photos with some Argentine pilgrims. He dedicated the necessary time to the tourists, who took a group portrait, and then continued on his way to enter through the Santa Anna Gate to the courtyard of San Damaso, where those responsible for protocol of the Holy See were waiting for him.

As planned, Francis received him at the Apostolic Palace in a closed-door audience. On the table, as the president had advanced, were, among other issues, the possible trip of the Pope to his native country, where he has not returned since his election in the 2013 conclave.

The Argentine president gave the Pope a folder with a copy of the handwritten letter from Chancellor José María Gutiérrez to Juan Bautista Alberdi accrediting him as representative in Europe in 1854; a commemorative postcard of Mama Antula (canonized on Sunday) and what probably aroused the most interest in Francis given his love for sweets: dulce de leche alfajores and lemon cookies “from the Supreme Pontiff's preferred brand,” the spokesperson highlighted. by Milei. The Argentine president had arrived in Rome from Israel accompanied by his entourage last Friday. The president will also meet this Monday with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

Milei and the Pope had seen each other briefly the day before when they had somehow buried the hostilities. Both greeted and hugged each other after the canonization of Mama Antula, the first Argentine saint. The gesture, including a kiss that Milei requested, was considered the thaw of relations between the two. The scene was not planned. Or, at least, the photo of both was expected this Monday, during their official meeting. But once the Eucharist was over in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Pope was transferred in a wheelchair due to his knee problems to the place where the politician had followed the mass, to his right, in the front row, before a kneeler It was at that moment when Milei stood up to shake his hand and even give him a hug. They both had a brief and light-hearted chat while laughing. “You cut your hair!” the pope told Milei. “I made it too long,” the president responded.

Milei's attacks on the Pope were part of the general argument of the extreme right in the world. Since he arrived in Rome, Francis has been one of the favorite targets of the ultra-conservative currents of politics, but also of the Church. From former US President Donald Trump to Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, they had reserved gestures of contempt for this Pontiff. Milei raised his tone until September, when in an interview with controversial former Fox News host Tucker Carlson he said that the Pope violated the 10 commandments for defending social justice and “is on the side of bloody dictatorships.”

Upon his election, he radically changed his approach and began to call him “your Holiness.” The tone and insults stopped when he arrived at the Casa Rosada last December and this Saturday expressed on Radio Miter his willingness to have “a very fruitful dialogue” with the Pope, whom he now sees as “the most important Argentine in history.”

Bergoglio, always extremely careful with matters that have to do with his native Argentina, never entered into the trap of attacks and downplayed his words. In fact, he phoned her to congratulate her on his victory last November. This Sunday, in addition to the final hug, the two had planned a brief and formal meeting before the mass in the sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica, about which no information has been released.

Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.

_