MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina' Cristina Fernandez flies to Paraguay meets Francis for the sixth time

The Argentine president had been invited by Paraguay's Cartés to attend the mass, and was the only regional head of state to visit Paraguay.

President Cristina Fernández was present on Sunday in the Paraguayan capital, Asunción to hear Pope Francis give mass during his visit, and greeted the Argentine citizens who had travelled to see the leader of the Catholic church. The head of state left the open mass at around midday, handing Francis a gift before retiring after witnessing the ceremony with Paraguayan counterpart Horacio Cartés.

 Cristina's attendance marked the sixth encounter between the Argentine president and the pope since Jorge Bergoglio took over the Holy See, in 2013. She had been invited by Cartés to attend the mass, and was the only regional head of state to visit Paraguay.

On Saturday Cristina Fernández de Kirchner dismissed a front page story published by Buenos Aires daily La Nación, which said that Pope Francis had called on “for a greater commitment with Justice in Argentina” in a telegram addressed to the president.

On to a Twitter rampage Cristina Fernandez explained that media moguls “are not only lying openly, which doesn’t come as a novelty, but are now literally distorting what the Pope writes and thinks.”

The president published the telegrams sent by the pontiff to presidents Dilma Rouseff (Brazil), Ollanta Humala (Peru), Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia) and Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela). “Do you realize?! In all cases, the telegrams contain identical words: progress, peace, coexistence, justice and solidarity”, said the Argentine leader.

“As always, once again, La Nacion shows its true colors. But lies are short-lived, thank God,” she concluded.