Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 4, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Leaders from across Latin America are praising the legacy and work of Pope John Paul II in the region and expressing gratitude for the fruits of his labors in each country.
Mexican president Vicente Fox said, “The people of this country will always be faithful to the Mexican Pope.” Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva noted “the untiring struggle for human dignity led by the Pope.”
In Cuba, which the Pope visited in 1998, three days of mourning were officially proclaimed. “We always saw Pope John Paul II as a friend, someone concerned about the poor, who battled neoliberalism and fought for peace,” said Cuban chancellor Felipe Perez Roque. Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Paya lamented the death of the Pope and noted his message of freedom in response to all forms of oppression.
Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, said his government shares “the sorrow of the world for the death of the pilgrim Pope,” adding that his greatest legacy was “his constant struggle for peace.”