- 12 minutes ago
Interview with Juan Raúl Ferreira. Sociologist. Ambassador of Uruguay to the Vatican. A man well-versed in the affairs of the Church and a personal friend of Pope Francis. For years, he has followed and analyzed the history and current state of the popes and the Vatican.
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NewsTranscript
00:09Hello, join us. As we know Pope Leo XIV is undergoing a 12-day visit to Latin America
00:16starting precisely at this moment in Uruguay, then he's going to travel to Argentina and after
00:22that he's going to Peru. Precisely to go deeper into the importance of this Papal visit, we have
00:29a special guest with us, Juan Raúl Ferreira, Ambassador of Uruguay to the Holy Sea. Hello, Juan Raúl.
00:36Thank you very much for joining us today and precisely in the context of this important visit.
00:43Thank you. It's a great honor for me to be here and it's a great pleasure to be in my
00:49home country
00:51the day that the Pope arrived in Uruguay and follow his visit step by step.
00:57Juan Raúl, what do you think is important precisely this visit precisely in the current
01:03geopolitical context that Latin America is facing at this moment?
01:10Well, I would say for Uruguay as a country, as a community, it's very important that he started his
01:17visit to America here. He has two homelands in the continent, the United States where he was born
01:29and Peru, his adopted country and he adopted patria, homeland. And I think that the fact that he
01:42he chose to start in Uruguay, which is a small country, the smallest in South America,
01:49which is a lay country, not only not too Catholic, but even Catholics are with have a great strong
02:00lay tradition, speaks a lot about the decision. For Uruguay, for some people, it may have been a surprise.
02:09I have to confess I wasn't surprised. It follows his tradition, his way to approach his humbleness.
02:25But the fact of the matter is that Uruguay is the only country in South America that Pope Francis did
02:34not
02:35visit. He did not visit Argentina either, but for reasons we don't want to get into, but everybody knows.
02:42But he visited all border countries like Peru, like Chile, like Brazil. But he did not come to Uruguay
02:52because Montevideo is too close to Buenos Aires. He would have been very offensive to the Argentine
02:57authorities if he had come to. So Uruguay paid a debt that did not belong to Uruguay. I think this
03:07this was a heavy argument for his decision. But above all, I think he wanted to show two things.
03:14I don't know if deliberately, but it came to be true.
03:18One is that a lay country may awake in this explosion of popular solidarity, popular participation,
03:31happiness that the people showed yesterday and is showing right now in Paisandu.
03:36And the other thing is that he may use Uruguay as his starting point in America for issues,
03:49to touch themes, peace, well, a religious message. It's obvious he's a religious leader.
03:58But above all, he has been received as a head of state. And as a head of state,
04:02he touched issues like peace, the need of Latin America to unite, not to radicalize and to have this
04:12profound deep hold between different ideologies and extreme positions that is hurting so much the
04:22soul of Latin America. He may have a chance to conduct more religious oriented messages in Argentina
04:30and in Peru. And he will finish in Peru his homeland in a trip that will be a little longer.
04:37But it's a great honor for Uruguay. He will spend as much time in Uruguay as in Argentina. It is
04:4430 times
04:47huger. It has much more 30 million inhabitants instead of two and a half million.
04:53So it's a blessing for Uruguay in all sense, even in the lay sense of the word blessing.
05:02Also, it is also interesting to know that Uruguay precisely is one of the most secular countries in
05:09the region. Jed Poblio XIV assures that he comes with good news, with a message of hope,
05:16with a message of unity. So what's the deeper meaning beyond, of course, the blessing that Uruguayans feel,
05:22but also coming from people that are not that very much connected to faith?
05:30Well, I think this is a great miracle. This was, as I just said, one of the reasons, I think,
05:37that convinced him of the need to start in Uruguay. And this has also a theological... I'm not an expert
05:48on this matters, but it's a matter of theology, too. Just a few weeks ago, no, a few days ago
05:56in Rome,
05:58the substitute, which is a name known in the government of the Holy Sea State, Monsignor Rudeli,
06:08met with all the Latin... we had lunch with him, all the Latin American ambassadors. And he said that
06:15in many ways, you don't have to measure the success of the church. He said,
06:25Jesus started with 12 apostles. It's not a matter of numbers. It's a matter of intensity. It's a matter
06:33of helping people. And he said, I rather have somebody that at 18 years old wants to be baptized,
06:41because I'm speaking now about his theological approach, that he feels the need to be baptized,
06:49because he feels his life has been empty when he's 18, 20 years old. And somebody who, at six months
06:58old, or only a few weeks old, receives the baptism just out of the religious religion of his family,
07:06says, well, it's not only a matter of numbers. It's a matter of quality. And he put this example. He
07:13said,
07:13remember, he told us, all the Latin American and Caribbean ambassadors, he said, remember,
07:19Jesus started with 12 apostles. This is interesting. And I think this is the theological approach
07:26of Pope Leo. And maybe one of the many reasons that maybe there was a good ambassador also
07:35whispering at his ear. But no, no, this was something very important for Uruguay. And we're
07:42very glad that he understood it the same way.
07:45Also, the second stage, as you mentioned, of this visit is going to be Argentina, a country that,
07:52of course, preserves a strong memory of Pope Francis. To what extent can we see this visit
08:01of Pope Leo XIV as a whole match to Pope Francis?
08:07Well, I think Pope Francis is a support. I have the privilege of having been a close friend of
08:15Pope Francis. And I care for him a lot. A lot. He helped my family in Argentina in the difficult
08:26years of
08:27the mid-70s. He helped escape from Argentina. And when I was ambassador to Argentina, he became the
08:38Archbishop of Buenos Aires. And I used to talk to him a lot about Monsignor Romero of El Salvador,
08:45whom he made a saint as soon as he became Pope. So I was very close to him. And I
08:51think he would be
08:52very happy to see a pope return to Argentina. If he didn't go, I think it is because he didn't
08:59want to
08:59generate more division than the one Argentina was experiencing, not because he wanted to turn his
09:08back to his home country. And one thing which is very interesting is that Pope Leo has his personal
09:17style that identifies him and which is different than the personal style and approach of Pope Francis.
09:27But there's not a before and after. And he took care of that. He would, from the very beginning of
09:35his
09:36mandate, Pope Leo insisted in taking care of this issue. There was not a pre- and post-transition
09:48of his mandate. He kept the same members of his cabinet in the government area and in the religious
09:56area of the Catholic Church. The same hierarchy, the same members of the cabinet, the same key positions.
10:04His first new appointment was the substitute, the number three in the church and state hierarchy,
10:13Monsignor Rudeli, which was just a couple of months ago, and
10:21substituting Monsignor Peña Parra. And the secretary of state, Cardinal Parolin, was elected, was designated by
10:31Pope Francis. He changed the dean of the Cardinal College just a couple of weeks ago, a year before,
10:40more than a year after he received the honor of being elected pope. So he has a very similar approach
10:52and issues. He has a different personal style, which complement each other. I don't think there is a
10:59we have to compare the Francis era, and there is not a different era. There is no different era in
11:08theology,
11:09in church administration, and on foreign and international affairs either. This is my feeling.
11:16Also, precisely, you were mentioning the circumstances being faced at the current moment by Argentinians,
11:23and also Pope Leo XIV spoke from a broader perspective that he warned the deepening social,
11:30economic, and multidimensional crisis being faced by Latin American countries, and how he came to the
11:38region with a message for the church to become a force of peace throughout the region as a whole. So
11:47how
11:47is this message resonating within Latin American countries, and most specifically in Argentina?
11:54Well, times have changed, and the gap between peace and war has extended in the world.
12:07It's been two years with two very important armed conflicts, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine,
12:21and now the American intervention in Iran. It's amazing the influence that the Vatican diplomacy is
12:34having on international affairs. It has always been that way, maybe, and it's not that well known,
12:42but it has broadened because of this return to war conflicts that the world had not experienced
12:51since World War II in this dimension. And for instance, if you look at the countries that have
13:00diplomatic relations with the Holy See, well, it's 182 countries that have ambassadors credited to the
13:08Vatican and embassies credited to the Vatican. There's 188, 182 ambassadors represent very different
13:18different types of governments. Atheist governments. I sit right beside, because of a protocol, a
13:26proceedings, with a Cuban ambassador, an atheist country. I sit right behind the Iranian ambassador,
13:35a Muslim country. I can see from where I have to be seated, the Palestine and Israeli ambassadors.
13:45They talk to each other. They talk to each other. They don't come to an agreement, but they talk to
13:51each
13:51other. They don't even talk to each other at the United Nations. They do at St. Peter's Square. This is
13:58something very, very important. And the Vatican uses this influence. Cardinal Parolin has, the Secretary of
14:06State, has this permanent message that I once teaching him said he should put it in his episcopal
14:16seal of arms. He always says, get along well with the Holy See, but above all, get along well among
14:26yourselves. He says this to the diplomatic corps permanently. And I think this is very important to
14:34understand the role. The Holy See has a permanent seat recognized as an independent state at the
14:44Organization of American States, the OAS, as an observer, and as a member of the United Nations.
14:52They never used a seat to speak. Now, under Pope Leo, this is the first General Assembly of the United
15:01Nations where the Holy See has spoken. And not once, but three times. Cardinal Parolin,
15:07Monsignor Gallagher, the foreign minister, and the nuncio ambassador to the United Nations.
15:13This is extremely important. It's with a strong message about nuclear weapons, about education,
15:22and about the need to consolidate multilateralism in such a tremendous crisis in the world. And I think
15:32that no matter what religious attitude each state or government has, everybody is recognizing now the
15:41role of the Holy See in searching means and ways of negotiating a stable peace in the world. Only
15:51very recently, the foreign minister of the Holy See, Monsignor Gallagher, traveled to Moscow and he
16:00announced there that they had spoken with the American government, they had spoken with the Ukrainian
16:07government. They had spoken while he was there with the Russian Federation to start negotiations for a
16:15ceasefire first and a peace agreement and settlement later. And I think this is very encouraging for all
16:24states. Now, Uruguay yesterday in the meeting we had with the government representatives of our country and the
16:36leaders of the papal delegation, the foreign minister offered once again the will of Uruguay to participate
16:48in every negotiation where it can help bring confronted parts together in a peace negotiation.
16:58Also, Juan Raúl, you mentioned the ongoing wars and conflict confrontations worldwide, but Latin America
17:06as well has endured dieted confrontations. For example, Venezuela suffered a military attack,
17:14Cuba is also suffering the imposition of unilateral sanctions of economic and energy blockades as
17:21well. So, how can we see the symbolism behind the presence of Pope Leo in our region and can we
17:28interpret this visit as well as a message of support and the sovereignty of countries that are enduring
17:35precisely or are suffering the consequences of these kinds of confrontations?
17:43Well, my personal opinion is definitely yes. And I have to be very cautious, if you excuse me,
17:51because in both examples that you mentioned, Uruguay has offered its will of participation
18:00to bring together the parts in conflict. And we know that the Holy See has done several, made several steps
18:14to
18:15prevent what happened in the, in Venezuela late last year and is very, very concerned about the situation
18:26of Cuba. Cuba has an, a permanent ambassador, uh, ambassador later Rodriguez. And, uh, he is, uh, he feels
18:37comfortable with the understanding he received. This does not mean that the Holy See will align itself
18:44with one part of the other, but it sends permanent diplomatic signals in that regard.
18:52Um, the visit of the Secretary of State to Pope Leo, uh, I have to be, again, very cautious, but,
19:03uh, it is
19:06something that we all can read and in international news that ever since Marco Rubio visited the Holy See,
19:15there were no more references from the United States to an intervention in Cuba. This is something
19:24objective, what I'm saying. Now each one can interpret, interpret it its own way, but, uh, yes,
19:33there is an interest of the, uh, Holy See to, uh, be part of, uh, uh, uh, negotiation where its
19:43presence may help,
19:44bring peace where there's war and prevent, uh, war where there is still peace.
19:53Thank you very much ambassador for your time here with us at Telesur English, also for taking us
20:00through the main highlights of this important visit, the symbolism that it carries and the message of
20:05peace in the midst of the circumstances being faced by the region. So thank you very much for your time.
20:09Thank you. And I, I, I always say that, uh, peace is a word that every time Pope Leo pronounces
20:17it,
20:17it comes out with such strongness and such, um, conviction that, uh, sometimes it's, it's emotionally
20:28valid to get touched by his words. Yes, indeed. Thank you very much once again. So we were
20:36speaking at this hour to Juan Raul Ferreira, ambassador of Uruguay to the Holy See, a man
20:42with a deep understanding of the church and also who was a personal friend of Pope, of Pope Francis,
20:49late Pope Francis. So for years as well, he has been monitoring and analyzing the history of current
20:55affairs of the Pope. So with this special interview on the visit that Pope Leo XIV is paying to Latin
21:02America,
21:03we're going to close this contact. So our invitation is for you to stay tuned with Telesur English for more
21:09information on this matter.