Pope Francis received several world presidents and leaders in the Vatican for diplomatic meetings that addressed global, social and humanitarian issues. These meetings were marked by dialogues about peace, migration, environment and human rights, as well as the traditional exchange of gifts between heads of state and the pontiff.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and former President Dilma Rousseff were the last two Brazilian presidents who met Francisco as they commanded the Planalto Palace.
Jair Bolsonaro did not meet the Pontiff, but the former president did not go unnoticed by Francisco’s comment. Already Michel Temer found the religious only when he was vice president.
Lula’s condemnation and impeachment of Dilma
In an interview with the Argentina C5N network, aired on March 30, 2023, Pope Francis stated that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had been convicted without proof and that former President Dilma Rousseff had “clean hands.”
The pontiff cited the Brazilian examples when asked about the lawfare, a term used to define the use of the justice system of justice for political persecution of opponents. At the time, Francisco also cited other countries in South America, Argentina and Bolivia.
“The path is opened with the media. It should be prevented that it from reaching such a post. So they disqualify it and get into it the suspicion of a crime. And make a whole criminal complaint, a huge complaint, where they are not found [provas]. But to condemn it just show the size of the complaint. Where is the offense? Here? Yes, it seems that yes. So was condemned Lula, ”he said at the time.
In the same interview, the Pope stated that former President Dilma Rousseff suffered impeachment, even being innocent.
“What happened to Dilma? A woman with clean hands, excellent woman,” said the pontiff, right after talking about Lula.
In December 2022, the Pontiff also cited Lula and said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper that the process that led the petista to prison began with false news.
“A trial has to be as clean as possible, with courts that have no interest but justice,” he said at the time.
Lula and Dilma met with Pope Francis last year. In June, the president of Brazil met with the Pontiff, in the region of Apulia, in southern Italy, where they had a bilateral meeting to deal with world peace, fight hunger and the need to reduce inequalities on the planet.
Two months earlier, Papa Francisco received at the Vatican, former President Dilma Rousseff, who now runs the New Development Bank, the so-called Bank of Brics, a group that brings together emerging countries.
Bolsonaro government
In October 2022, the time of the election for president in Brazil, Francisco, in his traditional papal greeting in the Vatican to Catholics, in São Pedro Square, sent a message to the pilgrims and asked the patron saint of Brazil, Our Lady Aparecida, to release the Brazilian people from the wave of hatred and grudge that spread in the country.
“I ask Our Lady Aparecida to protect and take care of the Brazilian people, that free from hatred, intolerance and violence,” said the Pontiff.
Despite not citing the Brazilian elections or names, the statement generated controversy. This is because Bolsonaro supporters expressed discontent with the speeches of the pontiff that would be in defense of Lula. Other sectors of society saw in the statement an appeal for national reconciliation.
In October 2021, then -President Jair Bolsonaro was in Rome for the G20 summit. But unlike his predecessors and other world leaders who also participated in the G20, such as Joe Biden, Bolsonaro was not with Pope Francis.
This content was originally published in remember what Francisco said about Lula, Dilma and Bolsonaro on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
