A door to dialogue in Venezuela | The pope admitted …

Back in Rome, after three days of visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pope Francis admitted the possibility that the Vatican will contribute to the dialogue in Venezuela, but warned that "for mediation to be carried out, he will of both parties ". Jorge Bergoglio spoke about the problem with the journalists who accompanied him on his plane when he returned from Abu Dhabi to Rome.

Francisco admitted that he knew the existence of Maduro's letter before leaving on Sunday for the Arabian Peninsula, a weight to which he had not yet made contact with the text of the letter.

According to correspondents who were part of the papal delegation, the pontiff answered a specific question on the subject: "In general, there are small steps, the last is mediation, these are small initial steps, facilitators, but not only of the Vatican, but of all diplomacy, to approach both of them to open up possibilities of dialogue, that is how it works in diplomacy. "

Now the pope was ready for the possibility of mediation. "We will see what can be done," he said, immediately insisting that "for mediation to take place, the will of both parties is necessary". Until now, the reaction is unknown, Juan Guaidó, the "president in charge" self-proclaimed Venezuela. There was no statement about the members of the team that seconded Guaidó.

It is known that even before Maduro's note, the Vatican was still active in the search for diplomatic alternatives to Venezuela's difficult situation. Since Panama, a few weeks ago, Francisco himself called for dialogue and expressed concern for the violence However, until now, the possibility of mediation at the Vatican had not been mentioned directly.

"The initial conditions are clear: the parties request it, we are always available," said Bergoglio. And illustrated by pointing out that it is "like when people go to see the priest because there is a problem between husband and wife: one part, and the other part, comes or does not come? Wants or does not want? "

He went on to stress that "both parties are still needed". And, in a more general tone, the pope baderted that "it is a condition that countries must take into account before asking for a facilitation or the presence of one." savior or mediation, both parties, always ".

In a joint statement issued yesterday by the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (CEV), the Conference of Religious of Venezuela (Conver) and the National Council of Laity of Venezuela (CNL), the Catholic Church of that country asked "a political change through a process of peaceful and transparent transition leading to free and legitimate elections to resume the course of democracy and achieve the restoration of the rule of law, reconstruction of the social fabric, economic production to the morality in the country and to the meeting of all Venezuelans. "On the same occasion, the bishops and the representatives of the church declared that" by taking this way of transition to a process electoral, it is urgent to do so in a peaceful way and with the instruments present in the National Constitution, in order to avoid further suffering and suffering to the population ".

The same document states that "the growing repression for political reasons, the violation of human rights and the arbitrary and selective arrests is morally unacceptable" and demands that "the necessary authorizations be granted to dispose of". humanitarian aid as a defense. " mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable people ".

On February 1, Juan Guaidó met with CEV President José Azuaje and Vice Presidents Bishops Mario Moronta and Raúl Biord at the Episcopal Agency's headquarters.