Pope Francis And President Macron Agreed On The Need for a Global Ceasefire in All Conflicts

• Pope Francis And President Macron Agreed On The Need for a Global Ceasefire in All Conflicts
  by Gerard O’Connell, April 21, 2020, https://www.americamagazine.org/
  Pope Francis speaks with French President Macron about coronavirus, international debt relief
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  Pope Francis and French president Emmanuel Macron spoke together by phone this afternoon, reaching a significant “convergence of views” on several issues, including how the European Union can respond in a united way to the coronavirus pandemic and the need for debt reduction in the developing world.
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  The president’s office said Pope Francis expressed his closeness and support to France, where Covid-19 has claimed more than 20,000 lives. It added that the pope hailed “the constructive responses taken by France at the international level after the health crisis caused by the pandemic.”
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  It also revealed that Pope Francis and President Macron agreed on the need for a global ceasefire in all conflicts. The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the various parties in conflict in different countries to accept ceasefires and Pope Francis has publicly supported that appeal during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday.
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  The pope and the president reached agreement on their vision for the reduction or cancellation of the debt of poor countries during the global emergency, an issue that Pope Francis has been pushing for some time. They also agreed on the necessity to increase aid to Africa.
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  The two leaders conducted a 45-minute conversation in Spanish and French, with the help of an interpreter, according to AFP. A photo published in French media depicted a smiling Mr. Macron talking over the phone with the pope.
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  The Vatican has not issued any statement so far regarding the dialogue, as is its normal practice regarding private conversations with the pope. America has learned that the phone conversation took place at the request of the French leader.
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  It was particularly significant that the two leaders spoke on the eve of a very important meeting of the heads of the 27 member states of the European Union that is scheduled to be held by video conference on April 23. That meeting is expected to result in crucial decisions regarding the financial instruments the union will adopt to assist states’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic, especially those nations most badly hit by the virus—Italy, Spain and France.
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