Pope receives Amorim and signals interest in and concern for Brazil.
In yet another demonstration that he is closely following the situation in Brazil, as well as that of former President Lula, who is being held as a political prisoner to prevent him from running in elections, Pope Francis received Ambassador and former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim this morning. During the conversation, the words used by the pontiff to refer to the Brazilian situation were "interest and concern." Prior to this meeting, the Pope had already condemned attacks on democracy made by the media and the judiciary and also sent a rosary to Lula through Juan Grabois, a Vatican consultant. The Pope also received the book "The Truth Will Prevail" and sent a blessing to Lula.
247 - Pope Francis received Ambassador Celso Amorim this morning, who was Foreign Minister in the government of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister of Defense under deposed President Dilma Rousseff. During the meeting, the words used by the pontiff to refer to the Brazilian situation were "interest and concern," demonstrating that he is closely following the Brazilian political and institutional crisis. During his meeting with Amorim, the Pope received the book 'The Truth Will Prevail', in which Lula recounts his struggle against the exceptional court that persecutes him in Brazil, and sent a blessing to Lula.
Before today's audience, the Pope had already condemned attacks on democracy made by the media and the judiciary, and also sent a blessed rosary to Lula through Juan Grabois, a Vatican consultant. The message about democracy occurred on May 17th. Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican, in his homily. In a passage titled "Intrigue: a method also used today," the Pope appears to have addressed Brazil, the coup, and the imprisonment of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, offering an accurate description of our current political situation. According to a verbatim transcript from Vatican News, Pope Francis said: “In civil life, in political life, when one wants to carry out a coup d'état”: “the media begins to speak ill of people, of leaders, and through slander and defamation these people are tarnished.” Then the justice system arrives, “condemns them, and in the end, a coup d'état takes place.”
In the case of consultant Juan Grabois, the Vatican also released a statement, transcribed below:
Argentine lawyer Juan Gabrois is a consultant to the former Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which became part of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and is the coordinator of the world meeting of social movements in dialogue with Pope Francis.
Grabois gave an interview (https://youtu.be/A7F-C1Bi5Q0After being prevented from visiting former President Lula in the Curitiba prison, where he has been detained for more than two months, Grabois described as inexplicable the refusal to meet with Lula, to whom he wanted to bring a Rosary blessed by the Pope, the words of the Holy Father and his reflections with social movements, and to discuss spiritual matters with the former head of state.
Grabois said he is very concerned about the political situation in Brazil and in several other Latin American countries. Finally, he said he was very sad about the prohibition of this visit, but that the important thing is that he managed to bring the Rosary to Lula.