Pope Francis said he is "worried" about Venezuela during the angelus he prayed with thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square this Sunday.
After commenting on the day's gospel, the pope referred to current events, mentioning the situation in Venezuela.
"I make a sincere call to all parties to seek the truth, act with moderation, avoid any type of violence, resolve disputes through dialogue, and consider the true good of the people rather than partisan interests," stated Francisco.
The message from the 87-year-old pontiff was echoed in a short tweet on the social network X.
In his message, the Pope also requested the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto and Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, figures venerated by Venezuelans, to help seek peaceful solutions.
This is considered the first public comment by Francisco on the post-electoral crisis in Venezuela.
Despite allegations of fraud from the opposition, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela confirmed Nicolás Maduro's victory in last Sunday's elections with 96.87% of the counted ballots.
The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, reported that the participation was 12,386,669 voters (59.97%), with a total of 12,335,884 valid votes. Of those, Maduro received 6,408,844 votes (51.95%) and Edmundo González received 5,326,104 votes (43.18%).
The opposition has expressed its discontent and has stated that it will continue with the global mobilization to denounce the electoral fraud until democracy is restored in Venezuela.
The government has responded to the demonstrations with measures that include the detention of several protesters. At least 17 fatalities and more than 2,000 arrests are reported in the context of these protests.
President Maduro stated in a speech that those detained will face the corresponding legal consequences and that justice will be served in accordance with the law.
"We have 2,000 captured prisoners, and from there they will go to Tocorón and Tocuyito (prisons), maximum punishment, justice. This time there will be no forgiveness, this time there will be no forgiveness, this time there will be Tocorón," said the leader in front of supporters who marched on Saturday in Caracas.
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