Pope Francis to visit Chile, Peru in January 2018

June 19, 2017 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Lima, Peru, Jun 19, 2017 / 10:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See Press Office announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Chile from January 15 to 18 and Peru from January 18 to 21, 2018.

In Chile the Holy Father will visit the capital of Santiago, as well as Temuco and Iquique. In Peru, he will visit the capital city of Lima, as well as Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo.

“The program of the trip will be published in due course,” the Vatican statement said.

The Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, affirmed in a press conference on Monday that “the Holy Father receives daily invitations from countries around the world. He has (chosen) to come to Peru and Chile. This makes us think of the enormous affection he has for our country.”

The Pope “comes as a pilgrim of peace, justice, unity. It is an excellent opportunity for the whole Peruvian family to seek the best, knowing that the Pope brings a message of reconciliation and mission, that the Church is open to (everyone),” he added during the press conference, held in the headquarters of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference in Lima.

“I call on you so that together we can prepare well for the presence of the Pope that will be a before and after in the history of the country,” he concluded.

The President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski reiterated the archbishop’s comments, saying that the Holy Father’s visit “will mark a before and after” for Peru.

“I think this visit is going to be an immense success,” he added.

In Chile, the Apostolic Nuncio, Bishop Ivo Scapolo, announced the news, accompanied by Archbishop Santiago Silva, President of the Episcopal Conference of Chile (CECh), Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, Archbishop of Santiago, and Bishop Fernando Ramos, General Secretary of the CECh, who will be the General Coordinator of the papal visit.

In the announcement Bishop Fernando Ramos affirmed that “the Pope is an important person as Peter’s successor, and his word and testimony are always intended to (announce) the person of Jesus.”

“In his visit he will help the church to reaffirm our following of Jesus,” he added.

The announcement comes a few months ahead of Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Colombia in September.

The Church’s first Latin American Pope has already visited several countries in South and Central America, including Brazil in 2013, Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay in 2015, and Cuba and Mexico in 2016. He has yet to visit his home country of Argentina as Pope.

The last Pope to visit Chile and Peru was Pope John Paul II, who made pastoral trips to Peru in 1985 and 1988, and Chile in 1987.

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Conservative candidate Alejandro Giammattei elected Guatemalan president

August 13, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Guatemala City, Guatemala, Aug 13, 2019 / 04:18 pm (CNA).- Alejandro Giammattei of the center-right Vamos party was elected president of Guatemala Sunday.

Giammattei, 63, won the Aug. 11 run-off election with 59% of the votes, to the 41% received by Sandra Torres, the candidate of the National Unity of Hope party (UNE) and former first lady.

During his campaign Giammattei pledged he would defend unborn life, and marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

Torres is also opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage, the AFP has reported.

Giammattei ran for president three previous times,  is a doctor, and uses crutches because he has multiple sclerosis.

He became head of the Guatemalan prison system in 2006, and led an operation to regain control of Pavón prison, which had been run by inmates for more than 10 years. During the operation, seven inmates died.

Giammattei was charged over the incident, but was acquitted.

He is supportive of capital punishment.

Important topics during the campaign were reportedly insecurity, unemployment, cost of living, and corruption.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language sister agency, Juan Godoy, communications director for the The Family Matters Association, said that “the Vamos party, as the president and vice-president elect, have confirmed that they are against abortion, for life from conception, and for marriage between man and woman, always respecting our constitution.”

As for the next government, Godoy believes that pro-life groups must “keep a close eye on the Congress … because that’s where the real power lies, the political game, and that’s where the pro-life movement can be endangered or strengthened.”

In the congressional election, UNE won 54 of the 160 seats, while Vamos won 16. The remaining 90 seats are divided among 17 parties.

Godoy noted that “from the perspective of the Guatemalan pro-life movement, any government official who defends the values and principles that make a society successful, progress, and be healthy by defending life, the family, and freedom, will have the support of the pro-life organizations. Whoever that may be, whatever the party, whatever its name may be. If this person works with dedication and demonstrates his commitment to these three ideals, he will have the support of a citizenry that is aware, a watchdog, and is committed.”

Finally, with a look to the future, the pro-life leader said that The Family Matters Association will continue working with the government of the day “in the best possible way … always being a go-to platform on the issue of life, family and freedom.”

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