On the eve of Pope Francis' visit to Colombia this week, a reflection about the role that Jorge Bergoglio has played over many years in the process of restoring peace to that country. His role is neither that of a guarantor nor a mediator, but he has indeed supported and encouraged the process that is ending 70 years of conflict and violence.
Reflection by Luis Badilla
Vatican City
From 6 to 10 September, in four major cities in Colombia, Pope Francis will say some very relevant things regarding the future of Colombians, whether Catholics or not. Things that essentially fall into a kind of pastoral axiom that he has already explained on different occasions: true hope shows only one possible and effective way: peace in reconciliation, to heal many wounds and thus heal the hearts. The over 500,000 victims of conflicts over the last 70 years must be the icon and the warning of the deepest, most coveted and awaited cry throughout Colombia and under Francis’ lead: Never again! Never again!
The closeness of Pope Francis to Colombia and her suffering people has far-reaching roots and perhaps the Pope himself never imagined that, over the decades, that thing he has always had for Colombians would have come to this country as true salvation. How many times Jorge Mario Bergoglio walking on the streets of Bogota - the last time was six years ago - gazed upon the faces of anonymous citizens who were there to see him. For many of them the face of this priest with big glasses had nothing to say, yet he had a charisma with an unimaginable pacifying power that Colombia had been waiting for for decades.
The final and decisive step towards achieving peace in Colombia coincidences with the pontificate of a Latin American named Jorge Mario Bergoglio - “a true blessing,” according to President Santos. An imponderable mystery of history.
To say however - as is the case - that Francis was a guarantor of the peace process between Manuel Santos’ government and the Farc is incorrect. It does not correspond to the facts. The Pope has never entered these negotiations as an active player. Such a request has never been presented to the Holy See. Several letters were sent to the Vatican, from the Farc but also from other personalities and institutions, asking Francis for support for the ongoing negotiations at La Habana; however no one ever asked him for an institutional role in the negotiations. It would be incorrect to say the opposite.
To say then that the Pope was a guarantor would imply that he was somehow involved in a political process whose only actor was, and is, the Colombian people. Francis can, as he did, plea and support for peace but he cannot be its guarantor. He does not have the means and, above all that is not his mission and ministry. The only true guarantors of this peace and of this reconciliation - all to be built - are Colombians and their ruling classes.
Furthermore, in Colombia, the role and the figure of the Pope have little to share with the negotiating process between Cuba and the United States. As for seeking agreements for a consensual pacification between the Santos Government and the Farc, Pope Francis acted motu proprio, without making any specific requests, or asking for intermediaries or suggestions. His thoughts and his work have been always discreet and for a long time highly confidential, particularly between March and November 2013; so as to foster, encourage and make effective the ongoing negotiations at La Habana between himself and his close associates in the Secretariat of State and in the diplomatic apparatus.
At this stage, and until the process comes to an end, Pope Francis can count on the effective and timely, far-sighted and generous work of the Colombian Episcopate and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the only and true transmission belts serving for the purpose. Indeed, in many passages they were the precious hand of the craftsman. At different times, the Columbian process and its relationship with Francis highlights the truthfulness of the statement that reminds everyone that, if desired, each can be a craftsman of peace, a building site open to all and not just limited to experts or strategists.
Those who had understood what was happening during the negotiations between Santos and Farc tried to have their own part included; a part that was always well-received and respected, but ultimately irrelevant. On request, the Cuban government, the venue for the final part of the negotiation that began years ago in Norway, communicated its impressions on the progress of the negotiations, the difficulties of the moment and the very complex dynamism of the negotiations. Habana always had a respectful attitude towards both sides, and if not specifically requested, it has always refrained from making any comment.
Certainly Cuba, like the guarantor countries, wanted to help and did not want to increase their medals. The work in favour of a true, just and lasting peace in Colombia had a fundamental requirement: that the presence of the Pontiff and of Vatican diplomacy be always a tangible expression of a discreet, loving and serious friendship, without aspiring to be protagonist in the media or in general. Such discretion and method led the Pope to reject the request of the Colombian Government and the Farc at the end of the negotiations (the appointment of two judges out of the 20 members forming the special court that will have had to judge the suspects of the most serious crimes perpetrated by the parties during the conflict).
It is well-known that Francis, since the beginning of his pontificate, has offered his clear and solid support to the peace negotiations, particularly in its most delicate passages. The hints of the efforts made by the Colombian people to overcome the conflicts of the past and achieve the long-awaited peace are present in almost every speech to the Diplomatic Corps as well as in the Messages Urbi et Orbi.
This support has also given, on several occasions, to President Manuel Santos. In different and discrete ways, Vatican diplomacy has also supported these talks. Some time ago, the Holy Father dismissed President Santos saying, If you sign peace I will come to Colombia. Once informed about the signing of the first global agreement on June 23, 2016, the Pope exclaimed: It makes me happy! At this time - he said in September 2015 in Cuba - I feel bound to turn my thoughts to the beloved land of Colombia, conscious of the crucial importance of the present moment when, with renewed effort and inspired by hope, its sons and daughters are seeking to build a peaceful society. May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict, united to that of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified sustain all the efforts being made, also here on this beautiful island, to achieve definitive reconciliation.
Reflection by Luis Badilla
Vatican City
From 6 to 10 September, in four major cities in Colombia, Pope Francis will say some very relevant things regarding the future of Colombians, whether Catholics or not. Things that essentially fall into a kind of pastoral axiom that he has already explained on different occasions: true hope shows only one possible and effective way: peace in reconciliation, to heal many wounds and thus heal the hearts. The over 500,000 victims of conflicts over the last 70 years must be the icon and the warning of the deepest, most coveted and awaited cry throughout Colombia and under Francis’ lead: Never again! Never again!
The closeness of Pope Francis to Colombia and her suffering people has far-reaching roots and perhaps the Pope himself never imagined that, over the decades, that thing he has always had for Colombians would have come to this country as true salvation. How many times Jorge Mario Bergoglio walking on the streets of Bogota - the last time was six years ago - gazed upon the faces of anonymous citizens who were there to see him. For many of them the face of this priest with big glasses had nothing to say, yet he had a charisma with an unimaginable pacifying power that Colombia had been waiting for for decades.
The final and decisive step towards achieving peace in Colombia coincidences with the pontificate of a Latin American named Jorge Mario Bergoglio - “a true blessing,” according to President Santos. An imponderable mystery of history.
To say however - as is the case - that Francis was a guarantor of the peace process between Manuel Santos’ government and the Farc is incorrect. It does not correspond to the facts. The Pope has never entered these negotiations as an active player. Such a request has never been presented to the Holy See. Several letters were sent to the Vatican, from the Farc but also from other personalities and institutions, asking Francis for support for the ongoing negotiations at La Habana; however no one ever asked him for an institutional role in the negotiations. It would be incorrect to say the opposite.
To say then that the Pope was a guarantor would imply that he was somehow involved in a political process whose only actor was, and is, the Colombian people. Francis can, as he did, plea and support for peace but he cannot be its guarantor. He does not have the means and, above all that is not his mission and ministry. The only true guarantors of this peace and of this reconciliation - all to be built - are Colombians and their ruling classes.
Furthermore, in Colombia, the role and the figure of the Pope have little to share with the negotiating process between Cuba and the United States. As for seeking agreements for a consensual pacification between the Santos Government and the Farc, Pope Francis acted motu proprio, without making any specific requests, or asking for intermediaries or suggestions. His thoughts and his work have been always discreet and for a long time highly confidential, particularly between March and November 2013; so as to foster, encourage and make effective the ongoing negotiations at La Habana between himself and his close associates in the Secretariat of State and in the diplomatic apparatus.
At this stage, and until the process comes to an end, Pope Francis can count on the effective and timely, far-sighted and generous work of the Colombian Episcopate and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the only and true transmission belts serving for the purpose. Indeed, in many passages they were the precious hand of the craftsman. At different times, the Columbian process and its relationship with Francis highlights the truthfulness of the statement that reminds everyone that, if desired, each can be a craftsman of peace, a building site open to all and not just limited to experts or strategists.
Those who had understood what was happening during the negotiations between Santos and Farc tried to have their own part included; a part that was always well-received and respected, but ultimately irrelevant. On request, the Cuban government, the venue for the final part of the negotiation that began years ago in Norway, communicated its impressions on the progress of the negotiations, the difficulties of the moment and the very complex dynamism of the negotiations. Habana always had a respectful attitude towards both sides, and if not specifically requested, it has always refrained from making any comment.
Certainly Cuba, like the guarantor countries, wanted to help and did not want to increase their medals. The work in favour of a true, just and lasting peace in Colombia had a fundamental requirement: that the presence of the Pontiff and of Vatican diplomacy be always a tangible expression of a discreet, loving and serious friendship, without aspiring to be protagonist in the media or in general. Such discretion and method led the Pope to reject the request of the Colombian Government and the Farc at the end of the negotiations (the appointment of two judges out of the 20 members forming the special court that will have had to judge the suspects of the most serious crimes perpetrated by the parties during the conflict).
It is well-known that Francis, since the beginning of his pontificate, has offered his clear and solid support to the peace negotiations, particularly in its most delicate passages. The hints of the efforts made by the Colombian people to overcome the conflicts of the past and achieve the long-awaited peace are present in almost every speech to the Diplomatic Corps as well as in the Messages Urbi et Orbi.
This support has also given, on several occasions, to President Manuel Santos. In different and discrete ways, Vatican diplomacy has also supported these talks. Some time ago, the Holy Father dismissed President Santos saying, If you sign peace I will come to Colombia. Once informed about the signing of the first global agreement on June 23, 2016, the Pope exclaimed: It makes me happy! At this time - he said in September 2015 in Cuba - I feel bound to turn my thoughts to the beloved land of Colombia, conscious of the crucial importance of the present moment when, with renewed effort and inspired by hope, its sons and daughters are seeking to build a peaceful society. May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict, united to that of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified sustain all the efforts being made, also here on this beautiful island, to achieve definitive reconciliation.
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