Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday (May 31st) invited Pope Francis to visit his country, in a telephone conversation that also focused on the Ukrainian conflict. "I just spoke on the phone with Pope Francis. I congratulated him for his efforts in defending peace in Ukraine and fighting poverty," Lula wrote on Twitter.
Brazil is trying to position itself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, in the same way as China. Lula has come under fire from the international community for repeatedly saying that responsibility for the conflict is shared, even though he recently condemned the Russian invasion.
'Audience with the Pope'
The Brazilian presidency said in a statement that the head of state would be received at the Vatican for "an audience with the pope in June or July." But the pontiff must also "analyze the possibility of a visit to Brazil," following Lula's invitation. In fact, papal journeys respond to invitations from national episcopates.
Francis visited Brazil at the beginning of his papacy, in 2013, on the occasion of World Youth Day (WYD). At the end of March, the pope said in an interview with an Argentine channel that the sentence that earned Lula 18 months of incarceration for corruption in 2018 and 2019 was unjust. In 2020, shortly after his release from prison, the former trade unionist was received by Francis at the Vatican.
