Argentine president visits Pope, asks intervention on Falklands
CWN - March 18, 2013
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met on March 18 with Pope Francis, with whom she had often clashed while he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Fernandez reportedly asked the Pontiff to intervene in the dispute between Argentina and Great Britain over control of the Falkland Islands. The Vatican made no comment on the matter. The British Foreign Office issued a short statement saying that the dispute over the Falklands was a political matter involving two sovereign nations, in which the Holy See "does not have a role to play."
Although the new Pope had sharply criticized Fernandez for (among other things) her drive to recognize same-sex marriage, and the Argentine leader had responded by attacking then-Cardinal Bergoglio, their luncheon meeting on March 18 was cordial. The Pope greeted Fernandez with a kiss on the check. "Never in my life has a Pope kissed me!" she told reporters later.
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