Vatican accepts Juan Pablo Cafiero as Argentine Ambassador

September 28, 2008

The Vatican has accepted Juan Pablo Cafiero's appointment as ambassador to the Holy See. The announcement takes place after rejecting Alberto Iribarne, who had originally been proposed by the government of Argentina, for being divorced.

In this way, the diplomatic conflict between Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government and the Holy See comes to an end. Bilateral relationships had been frozen for ten months after Kirchner refused to appoint another ambassador immediately after the rejection.

After the announcement, the Argentine government highlighted the speed at which the new appointed ambassador was approved. Kirchner received the news while she was visiting the Neue Galerie in New York.

Cafiero, whose catholic practices and moderate profile may have accelerated his acceptance, said he was happy that he had been accepted. Furthermore, he stressed the need to "restore" the relationship between the Holy See and Argentina, and he self-imposed this task.

The Argentine Senate will have to ratify his designation before it becomes official.