- During the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the Supreme Pontiff asked for the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto | Main photo: EFE
Pope Francis expressed his concern on Sunday, August 4, about the situation in Venezuela and called on all parties to seek the truth and behave with moderation to avoid violence, in a message he gave during the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square (The Vatican).
“I express my concern for Venezuela, which is experiencing a critical situation. I strongly appeal to all parties to seek the truth and to behave with moderation to avoid any kind of violence,” said the Supreme Pontiff.
The Catholic Church’s top leader called for disputes in Venezuela to be resolved through dialogue for the good of the population and “not for the interests of each party.”
Pope Francis also asked for the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto, declared “patroness” of Venezuela in 1942 by the Venezuelan episcopate, and the prayer of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández.
The pontiff’s statements were made amid the political conflict in Venezuela following the presidential elections of July 28, in which the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the electoral contest with 51.59% of the votes.
Several countries, including the United States, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Costa Rica, have recognized the victory of the candidate for the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Edmundo González. To date, the electoral body has not released the detailed results of the elections, while the opposition created a web portal where it published more than 80% of the minutes issued by the voting machines.
The call made by seven countries of the European Union
Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal signed a joint declaration on August 3 in which they ask “the Venezuelan authorities to publish without delay all voting records in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”
In this initiative, promoted by Italy and France, they expressed “deep concern about the situation in Venezuela following the presidential elections last Sunday.”
“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to publish all voting records without delay in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” the document reads.
The statement explains that “the opposition indicates that it has collected and published more than 80% of the voting records produced in each polling station” and that “this verification is essential to recognize the will of the Venezuelan people.”
“The rights of all Venezuelans, particularly political leaders, must be respected during this process. We strongly condemn any arrest or threat against them,” they added.
With information from EFE
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2024-08-05 07:04:09