The Vatican distributed only a few seconds of footage of the meeting between Pope Francis and President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez.
'How was the trip?'
'A lot of work and other things then...'
It is the second meeting between the Pope and the President, and the first since Alberto Fernandez approved a law allowing abortion in Argentina.
Pope Francis typically does not receive leaders on Vatican holidays, but today he made an exception in a gesture of cordiality.
The meeting lasted about 25 minutes.
The Pope gave him this mosaic of Adam and Eve tending the earth and caring for nature as a reminder of this visit.
Among the gifts the President brought the Pope was a medal commemorating the anniversary of the Falklands War.
ALBERTO FERNÁNDEZ
President of Argentina
'It was a very nice meeting. It had been a while since I had seen him, which made it a pleasure for me to meet with him again. We talked about everything, we discussed the problems that the world is facing, the problems Argentina is facing, and as always he was very willing to help us.'
Fernandez also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State. The two exchanged ideas on the health emergency, the economic crisis and the global fight against poverty.
The President extended his stay in Rome by one day. Perhaps taking advantage of the fact that Kristalina Georgieva, the director of the International Monetary Fund, will be in the Vatican this Friday.
Argentina is currently renegotiating the conditions of its debt payments, and the Vatican offers a neutral setting to carry out the discussions.
JMB
TR: JM
