(May 1, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday received in the Vatican President Álvaro
Uribe of Colombia and the two agreed that the Church has a key role to play in helping
the South American nation achieve peace. The Pope and Uribe held private talks for
some 30 minutes, aided by an interpreter. The Colombian president later met Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, Vatican secretary for Vatican relations with states. A Vatican
communiqué said the "cordial discussions enabled a fruitful exchange of views on questions
concerning the current international and regional situation." The talks also viewed
certain aspects of the situation in the South American country, in particular the
fight against drug trafficking, social policies aimed at improving the living conditions
of the many people who still live in poverty, and collaboration between Church and
state to consolidate national peace. The Catholic Church in Colombia has long spent
efforts in trying to end the conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), the group responsible for holding captive hundreds of prisoners in the jungles.