As the Vatican-mediated talks in Venezuela are crumbling, there’s no doubt Pope Francis has the situation in his heart.
The government and opposition were supposed to sit down with Vatican mediation today, but this morning, the opposition said they were not planning to attend the talks, since the government has made no efforts at compromise, and particularly, has not made any moves to release more than 100 political prisoners.
The archbishop of Caracas was in Rome in November for the consistory to create new cardinals. On that occasion, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino said that the Holy Father’s “affection and concern for Venezuela is something very encouraging for us.” The Pontiff “is always worried about us,” he said.
Already then, the cardinal was lamenting that the talks were progressing too slowly and expressing his regret that the government was not moving to release political prisoners.
The Archbishop of Caracas also pointed out that some think that the Pope’s delegate is going to resolve the problems.
But, he pointed out, “the responsibility for the resolution of the problems weighs on the shoulders of the parties in conflict, not on the shoulders of the supporters.”
It’s not the Vatican – he stressed — that is going to resolve Venezuela’s problems; it is Venezuelans in the Government and in the Opposition that are trying to reach agreements to resolve the critical and very bad circumstances that the Venezuelan people are experiencing.
Finally, recalling the Mass that he himself celebrated with political prisoners the previous Sunday, he explained that “they ask for support, solidarity, affection.”
