Pope Francis Meets President Santos and Uribe in the Vatican

Bogota, Dec 16 (Prensa Latina) Pope Francis met Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and former president Alvaro Uribe today, who have been distanced due to their disagreement over the peace process with the FARC-EP, according to Colombian news reports.

Although there have been no details of the meeting, the main Colombian newspapers and radio stations have published images of the moment.

In successive messages His Holiness called on Colombians to persevere in the search for peace and national reconciliation.

Uribe, who heads the right-wing Democratic Center Party (CD), is one of the most vocal critics of Santos' administration and an outspoken opponent of negotiations with the FARC-EP.

Along with other spokespersons of the CD, he led the campaign for the negative vote in the October referendum, when most voters rejected the first peace agreement between the government and the rebel group.

Negotiators returned to the table and finalized a conclusive treaty, which was signed on November 24th and ratified by the Congress of the Republic; the ex-president also opposes this agreement.

On Monday parliamentarians will discuss the draft amnesty law, considered key to the members of this insurgent group, the largest in the nation.