Gregory Korte and Oren Dorell, USA TODAY
2:40 p.m. EST December 18, 2014
Alan Gross, an American contractor who was arrested in Cuba in December 2009, landed at Joint Base Andrews on Dec. 17. VPC, WUSA
(Photo: Franco Origlia, Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — A personal appeal by Pope Francis played a key role in finalizing a deal to open relations between the United States and Cuba for the first time in 53 years.
The pope wrote a personal letter to President Obama this fall — something he'd never done before — and a separate letter to Cuban President Raúl Castro.
The letter invited the leaders to "resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners," according to a Vatican statement congratulating the two countries Wednesday. The Vatican said it received delegations from both countries in October and helped facilitate a dialogue.
That resulted in a major U.S. policy shift toward Cuba, including a prisoner swap between the two countries that freed American Alan Gross on Wednesday.
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"The Holy See will continue to assure its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the well-being of their respective citizens," the statement said.
President Obama meets with Pope Francis March 27 at the Vatican.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)
In addition to the Vatican meeting this fall, discussions between the two leaders took place in Canada over the past year and a half, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the talks publicly.
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Aside from President Obama and the Cuban president, the pontiff was the only other foreign leader directly involved in the talks, the official said.
Francis' support was particularly important given Cuba's historical and cultural Catholic identity, the official said, and his election as the first-ever pope from Latin America gave him credibility.
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Before he was Pope Francis, the Argentinian served as Bishop of Buenos Aires, where he was a prominent member of the Episcopal Conferences of Latin America. That group, along with the Vatican and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has long advocated for normalized relations between the United States and Cuba.
Their rationale "stems from the Vatican's long-standing desire to overcome conflictual divisions between nations," said Stephen Schneck, who works at the Catholic University of America. "It's very much part of the pope's own understanding of proper foreign relations."
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Timeline: Cuba and U.S. relations through the years
In addition, the Latin American bishops believe residents in the hemisphere should be doing business with each other and getting along, Schneck said.
"(They've) seen this split between the United States and Cuba as a kind of split among American brothers," he said.
Dorell reported from McLean, Va.
Source
.
.
Alan Gross, an American contractor who was arrested in Cuba in December 2009, landed at Joint Base Andrews on Dec. 17. VPC, WUSA
(Photo: Franco Origlia, Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — A personal appeal by Pope Francis played a key role in finalizing a deal to open relations between the United States and Cuba for the first time in 53 years.
The pope wrote a personal letter to President Obama this fall — something he'd never done before — and a separate letter to Cuban President Raúl Castro.
The letter invited the leaders to "resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners," according to a Vatican statement congratulating the two countries Wednesday. The Vatican said it received delegations from both countries in October and helped facilitate a dialogue.
That resulted in a major U.S. policy shift toward Cuba, including a prisoner swap between the two countries that freed American Alan Gross on Wednesday.
USA TODAY
American released by Cuba was wasting away
"The Holy See will continue to assure its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the well-being of their respective citizens," the statement said.
President Obama meets with Pope Francis March 27 at the Vatican.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)
In addition to the Vatican meeting this fall, discussions between the two leaders took place in Canada over the past year and a half, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the talks publicly.
USA TODAY
Obama opens doors to Cuba after 56 years
Aside from President Obama and the Cuban president, the pontiff was the only other foreign leader directly involved in the talks, the official said.
Francis' support was particularly important given Cuba's historical and cultural Catholic identity, the official said, and his election as the first-ever pope from Latin America gave him credibility.
USA TODAY
5 ways U.S.-Cuba relations are about to change
Before he was Pope Francis, the Argentinian served as Bishop of Buenos Aires, where he was a prominent member of the Episcopal Conferences of Latin America. That group, along with the Vatican and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has long advocated for normalized relations between the United States and Cuba.
Their rationale "stems from the Vatican's long-standing desire to overcome conflictual divisions between nations," said Stephen Schneck, who works at the Catholic University of America. "It's very much part of the pope's own understanding of proper foreign relations."
USA TODAY
Timeline: Cuba and U.S. relations through the years
In addition, the Latin American bishops believe residents in the hemisphere should be doing business with each other and getting along, Schneck said.
"(They've) seen this split between the United States and Cuba as a kind of split among American brothers," he said.
Dorell reported from McLean, Va.
Source
.
.
- www.theguardian.com › World › Pope FrancisThe Guardian1 day ago - Pope sent letters to Obama and Castro calling on pair to 'resolve humanitarian questions of common interest' while Vatican helped broker talks.
Secret talks in Canada, Vatican City led to Cuba breakthrough
https://news.yahoo.com/secret-talks-canada-vatican-city-led...Yahoo! News1 day ago - Months of talks in Canada and at the Vatican, involving one of Obama's closest aides, culminated on Tuesday when Obama and Cuban ...Vatican intimately involved in U.S.-Cuba talks, including to ...
www.washingtonpost.com/.../vatican...cuban.../793ba...The Washington Post1 day ago - The Vatican was intimately involved in talks that resulted in the release Wednesday of American contractor Alan Gross and news that the ...The Vatican Helped Seal U.S.-Cuba Deal | TIME
time.com/3638011/cuba-vatican-pope-francis-alan-gross/Time1 day ago - The Vatican played a key role in securing the release of an American contractor held in Cuba for five years and in setting the stage for a cooling ...Pope Francis played key role in U.S.-Cuba deal - USA Today
www.usatoday.com/story/news/.../12/...cuba.../20533525/USA Today1 day ago - Alan Gross, an American contractor who was arrested in Cuba in December ... The Vatican said it received delegations from both countries in ...Vatican Brokered Secret U.S.-Cuba Talks - The Daily Beast
www.thedailybeast.com/.../vatican-prime-player-in-u-s-c...The Daily Beast1 day ago - Pope Francis and the Vatican played a significant role in reopening diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S. The Vatican not only ...The Pope's Diplomatic Miracle: Ending the US-Cuba Cold War
www.thedailybeast.com/.../the-pope-s-diplomatic-miracle...The Daily Beast23 hours ago - As the first Latin American Pope, Francis was the power behind the historic thawing of U.S.-Cuban relations, the Vatican revealed today.Pope Francis unexpected hero of US-Cuba relations ...
rt.com/news/215347-castro-vatican-cuba-us/RT1 day ago - Pope Francis has congratulated both the US and Cuba on restoring relations, as the Vatican together with Canada were confirmed to have ...Pope Francis Is Credited With a Crucial Role in U.S.-Cuba ...
www.nytimes.com/.../breakthrough-on-cuba-highligh...The New York Times1 day ago - Francis helped bridge the divide by first sending letters to President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba, and then having the Vatican ...- .
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