Pope Francis will go to Colombia when there is a final agreement for peace. This is what the pope told Juan Manuel Santos in their meeting in the Vatican.
The president received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo a few days ago, and is now touring several countries in Europe to strengthen his country's diplomatic ties. The meeting with the pope was one of his most important appointments.
'Bullets ruled our past. Peace will rule our future.â?
Juan Manuel Santos gave the pope a symbolic gift: a bullet repurposed as a pen. Bullets were an instrument of conflict in the past; now, it will seal peace in Colombia.
At the end of their meeting, Santos gave the pope a formal invitation to come to Colombia, to which the pope answered like this:
'I am going to give you a letter, this makes the invitation to Colombia official.â?
'When everything is settled I will go.â?
After that, the pope met in private with the former Colombian president, ílvaro Uribe. He is a strong advocate against the peace treaty Santos is trying to get through. That is why the pope meeting with both president's is such a powerful image: a new attempt from the pope to promote peace in the violence-stricken regions of the world.
The pope's intervention was crucial to prevent the United States and France from bombing Syria. He also was instrumental in the establishment of diplomatic relations between United States and Cuba. The Vatican has also tried to push Venezuela in the right direction in their very complicated situation, and with this meeting, the pope is trying to foster peace in Colombia.
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