Pope Francis asks the G20 for a creative and ‘universal’ solution to the pandemic crisis

Pope Francis said that the leaders of the G20, who will meet this month in Rome, must work for a creative and “universal” solution to the crisis caused by the pandemic, which, at the same time, takes into account the asymmetries between countries. .

“The end of the pandemic has to be in a creative way. A crisis does not come out the same, but it comes out better or worse. And that end of the pandemic has to be towards the best. Otherwise we will go backwards” , the Supreme Pontiff warned in an interview with the Argentine news agency Télam released this Friday.

For the pope, although in the “collective imagination there is an idea that it is possible to start over with a reconstruction of things as they were until now”, the covid-19 pandemic implies “a challenge to change.”

The pope said that the G20 summit, to be held later this month in Rome, “must seriously consider the relationship between developed and undeveloped countries” and take into account the asymmetries between nations, for example, in terms sanitary.

Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio argued that the crisis “does not come out alone” and encouraged a “universal” response.

“The pandemic temporarily regressed us and we all have the desire, and the impulse, to go out. But we must see how we universalize this: you cannot go out in particular, you have to go out in universal,” he said.

“The key to reconstruction after the pandemic is universal; if not, we are fried,” he insisted.

Francisco also advocated that the G20 summit serve “to lower tensions worldwide” in the face of “escalations of violence that provoke more violence.”

Elogio a Merkel

In another part of the interview, the Supreme Pontiff praised Angela Merkel, who is preparing to step down as Chancellor of Germany after 16 years in power.

“In her years in office, Merkel has given a good example of common sense, of the ability to see what is possible, what is viable, and always walk that way,” said Francisco.

The pope described the German Chancellor as “one of the great leaders who will go down in history” and stressed “she is not a fanciful woman” because her ideals “were concretely embodied.”

In addition, he stressed that the task carried out by Merkel “is also important as a female leadership” and said that “in politics women have always given a good contribution and more when they really carry it in their hearts.”

“I believe that the administration of Angela Merkel is an interesting milestone in world politics and a call to women who feel a political vocation,” he said.

Papal trips

In the interview, Francisco also referred to the trips he plans to make and, in this sense, he confirmed that at the beginning of next December he will visit Greece and Cyprus.

Looking ahead to 2022, the pope said he has “on his mind” the possibility of visiting the Congo and Hungary.

“Also, I still have to pay the back bill for the trip to Papua New Guinea and East Timor,” he said. (I)