Pope Francis has said he will visit Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil “when the opportunity presents itself”.

Pope Francis assured on Monday that he visited Iraq after thinking a lot and knowing the risks, as he explained during the press conference on the return flight from his three-day visit to the country. Arab, in which he admitted that the trip had been questioned due to the possibility of contagion of the coronavirus and for security reasons. In addition, he raised the possibility of traveling to Argentina, his country of origin, where he has not returned since being elected Grand Pontiff.

“Travel is cooked in time, in my consciousness and that (the pandemic) is something that made me doubt, but I prayed a lot and I made a decision freely, but it came from within “, he explained to reporters.

On what is now a traditional question of whether he planned a trip to Argentina, Francisco joked that every time they asked him, he claimed he was 76 and “that was enough” .

But then he got serious and ensured that there is something that is never said about it and that is in November 2017 there was a travel plan to visit Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, but that Chile was in the middle of an electoral campaign and that it was therefore decided to leave in January.

“But January in Argentina and Uruguay can not go. There is nobody, it’s like July or August in Rome and the suggestion to go to Peru came out», He clarified.

“I mean, so that the fantasies of the fatherland phobia are not made, when the opportunity arises, (a trip) should be made to Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil, because they have a similarity cultural“, He said.

And regarding his travel plans and the impending anniversary of his eighth year of pontificate, Francis joked, crossing his fingers, to avoid bad omens, and admitted that on this trip he was much more tired than the others. “84 don’t come alone,” he joked.

Pope Francis responded for an hour to reporters’ questions about the trip to Iraq and future visits, now that they have resumed after a 15-month hiatus due to the pandemic, although he confessed that during this trip, he had felt much “more tired” because the 84 years are heavy.

“I listen to make a decision on the trip. And I listen to the advice of so many advisers. Sometimes I ask, what do you think, should I go or not? And then I pray, pray and think“, He explained.

He confessed that the decision of this trip comes from afar, from the demands of the ambassadors and the president, but that what moved him the most was the reading of the book of Nadia Murad, the young Yazidi who became a slave by the state. Islamic and who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to eradicate sexual violence as a weapon in wars and armed conflicts. “This is the story of the Yazidis, where Nadia Murad tells terrible things. I advise you to read it (…) For me, that was the basis of this decision. I carry this book with me, and also with Nadia, who came to tell me terrible things. All of these things together made the decision, ”he explained.

“DURING THESE MONTHS, I FIRE IN PRISON”

On the fact that the trips resumed after 15 months due to the pandemic and that on this trip he returned to be in contact with the faithful, the Pope confessed that in recent months he has felt like in a prison.

“I feel different when I’m away from people and would like to start mainstream again soon. I hope the conditions are met, but I am following the instructions of the responsible authorities», He stressed.

“After these months in prison, because I felt in prison, the truth is that for me (to be in contact with the people) it is to resuscitate, because it is to touch the Church, to touch the holy people of God .“, He added.

WHO SELLS THE WEAPONS TO TERRORISTS?

Francisco explained that in the city of Mosul, a symbol of jihadist horror, when he passed the large destroyed (Syro-Catholic) church, he was speechless.

“You can’t believe it. This church was destroyed, but also others and mosques, which you can see these people (Islamic State terrorists) did not like. You cannot believe what human cruelty is, ”he said.

And he reflected on what is happening again in Africa, “where the war begins to turn and also the so-called Islamic State”.

As he prayed in front of the devastated church, the Pope commented that the question came to his mind: “Who sells arms to these destroyers?” because the weapons are not made by them at home. Maybe explosives, but not weapons. Who is responsible? I would ask that those who sell them the weapons, at least, have the sincerity to say that it is them. “

HUNGARY, NEXT TRIP AND LEBANON PROJECT

He confirmed that he will travel to Hungary for the end of the Eucharistic Congress next September and that Slovakia being only 200 kilometers away, he could also extend the visit to this country.

He also spoke about his promise to go to Lebanon. “Lebanon is suffering and Lebanon is more than a balance. It has the weakness of presenting some differences and the strength of the great reconciled people ”.

He noted that there was the possibility of going to Beirut during this visit to Iraq, but that it seemed little, “a crumb, for a country which suffers”.

(With information from EFE)