The diplomatic battle: Venezuela, the most uncomfortable crisis for Francisco

ROME.-

Venezuela

it has become the most uncomfortable crisis for the

Pope

. Many followers of their continent are irrelevant. They do not understand how, unlike the Venezuelan bishops and many American and European governments, they did not support the opposition

Juan Guaidó

, president in charge of the country, for a transition leading to free elections. But although he does not admit it publicly, Vatican diplomacy is working in silence, with great caution, for an "elegant" outing of

Nicolás Maduro

.

Saving distances and differences is similar to the departure of the last Polish Communist leader, General and dictator Wojciech Jaruzelski, who stepped down after the 1989 round table agreements that brought Poland to democracy. Another example could be the fall of the Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was forced to leave the presidency and exile in 1986 following mbadive protests, also motivated by the local church.

The pope explained that supporting one or the other party in Venezuela "would constitute a pastoral imprudence" on his part, that he could do more damage and that he feared effusions of blood. Many Latin Americans have interpreted this position as a virtual endorsement of the "communist pope" by the Maduro regime.

"The Vatican wants Maduro to do what is best for its people, so that it is understanding, so that the two sides reach an agreement and that it does not matter. there is no bloodshed, "he said.
THE NATION a source from the Holy See, who asked to remain anonymous.

Vatican diplomacy has the golden rule of not breaking any relationship with any country and of balancing vis-à-vis the warring parties in order to be able to act as a channel and to intervene, if necessary. . In this line, the Holy See has never broken with the castrato in Cuba nor with Augusto Pinochet in Chile.

The Vatican's position simply allowed Maduro to send a letter to the pope in which he asked for help in starting a dialogue with Guaidó. Francisco has expressed his willingness to play a mediating role, but only if both parties request it, which has not happened yet.

In a television interview, Guaidó called a few days ago the pope and international diplomacy to "help end the usurpation". But there was no formal request for intervention, but Mr Guaidó reiterated his categorical rejection of any possibility of dialogue with Maduro, which, with that, is only meant to save time.

Francisco, who at the end of 2016 took the risk of facilitating dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition that ended in failure, was also criticized for his position ostensibly.
soft. Why did not he raise his voice, unlike the combative Venezuelan Episcopal Conference?

In the Vatican, explain that if the Venezuelan bishops could say what they said, it was because they had and had the green light to do so.

For this reason, although some spoke of the distance between the pope and the bishops, there has never been such a division. "The Vatican has entrusted us, we bishops, the reins, we are doing what is right and we know that the pope supports us," confirmed Cardinal Baltazar Porras, Archbishop of Mérida and Apostolic Administrator of Caracas, who said he is still opposed to Chávez and Maduro, in an interview with the Italian newspaper
Il Fatto Quotidiano.

"The pope is always interested in Venezuela and constantly receives news from me, bishops and Cardinal Pietro Parolin [secretario de Estado vaticano]. The pope demands that a diplomatic mechanism be created with the protagonist of the Vatican, through the local Church, for a peaceful solution, without blood nor war, "added Porras.

For Rodrigo Diamanti, a member of the delegation that Guaidó sent to Rome to meet tomorrow with the Italian government, one of the few in Europe that has not acknowledged, "the position of the Church is one and that of the Episcopal Conference, Venezuelan ".

"We hope that with the Vatican, the Venezuelan Church will be able to help organize free and transparent elections as soon as possible so that Venezuela can overcome the crisis it is going through," he said. declared.
THE NATION Diamanti. "A dictatorship that does not accept the elections and does not allow the entry of humanitarian aid can not continue," he added.

Marinellys Tremamunno, Italian-Venezuelan journalist and author of the book
Venezuela, the collapse of a revolutionHe does not hide his disappointment with the pope and explains why Venezuela is the most uncomfortable crisis for him. "Obviously, the neutral position of the pope has generated a lot of annoyance in Venezuela: ordinary Venezuelans, those who have been victims of torture, those who are victims of this tragedy lived, the exiles, believe that it is impossible not to take a position on the violation of human rights, "he said
THE NATION.

"Those of us who are suffering from the Venezuelan problem know that the solution is not in the hands of the pope, but it is difficult to continue talking about the need for dialogue with a dictator accused of terrible crimes. , with whom it is clear that we can not speak, "added Tremamunno. .

Probably aware of these feelings in a country he knows very well, Cardinal Parolin, nun in Caracas before being called by Francisco to become his number two, tried to explain the position of the Holy See with a qualifier: "positive neutrality"

"The approach of the Holy See is one of positive neutrality, not one who looks out the window to see what is happening almost indifferently, it is the center of the one who seeks to be above the parties to overcome the conflict, "he said on television. Italian episcopate. Parolin also affirmed that the Holy See's commitment, as the pope said, "is always seeking peaceful and institutional solutions to the current crisis".

Fluctuations in the bid for Vatican support

Maduro sent a letter to the pope while Guaidó asked for help for "the end of the usurpation" of power

• By the end of 2016, Francisco could play the role of facilitator in the dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition, which ended in failure.
• Last week, the pope was willing to negotiate the crisis in Venezuela, but said he needed an agreement from both sides. A few days earlier, Maduro had sent a letter to Francisco asking for help to open a dialogue channel.
• After the words of the pope, Guaidó appealed to him and international diplomacy to "help end the usurpation" of power, but no formal request for intervention was made. the opposition leader reiterated his categorical rejection of any possibility of dialogue with Maduro
• Last Thursday, the Vatican insisted on maintaining a "positive neutrality" regarding the political dispute between Maduro and Guaidó. "This is not the attitude of those who sit in front of the window and who observe almost indifferently, it is the attitude of being on the parties to overcome the conflict" said Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.