- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico has invited Pope Francis to visit the Aztec country, but the Vatican has not yet responded to the invitation.
- The invitation was personally sent to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State when President Obrador met with him in April.
- President Obrador has expressed admiration for Pope Francis and considers him the most important politician in the world due to his efforts to address issues of injustice and inequality.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador informed that he has already invited Pope Francis to come to Mexico, but at the moment the Vatican has not answered him if he will come before the end of his six-year term in September 2024. He emphasized that he considers him the most important politician in the world.
“Yes, for information, I have already invited him, according to what you are asking me.”
-What did the Vatican answer? Will he come before September 2024? -he was asked.
“I don’t know, the Pope is taking care of himself and he is doing well. He will always be welcome here and, I repeat, I personally admire him. I consider him the most important politician in the world today, independently of being the religious leader of Catholicism”, he answered.
The Mexican President revealed that the invitation to Pope Francis was sent personally to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, with whom he met last April when he visited Mexico.
“I already invited him with the head of the Vatican State, we talked and he was with me, I think we have met twice with the head of the Vatican State, and we invited the Pope.”
“I have, independently of the religious, have a lot of respect and admiration for Pope Francis, I consider him a very human man who has been able to put the Catholic Church in correspondence with the realities of injustice that have prevailed, especially in recent times. He is constantly talking about inequality, poverty, discrimination, and the injustices committed, and he has been very respectful with us,” he said.
The federal president said that in the three historical transformations of Mexico, the popes have been against changes in favor of the people.
“Not now, now Pope Francis has acted with much respect. Moreover, I would say that because of that, among other things, the Mexican Church and the Catholic Church have been respectful to us, as we are respectful of the Catholic Church and all churches. We respect believers and non-believers because a secular state means religious freedom. It means that no single religion dominates, that is a secular state, and at the same time, there is freedom of belief”, he said.