Meekness is 'Virtue of the Strong': Pope Francis Answers Criticism on Planned Meeting with Argentina President Cristina Kirchner

Pope Francis emphasized that meekness is "a virtue of the strong" in response to a letter from a journalist who criticized his planned June 7 meeting with Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who many Argentinians accuse of corruption.

The Jewish journalist, Alfredo Leuco, questioned the Argentine Pope's decision to schedule a fifth meeting with Kirchner who is due to visit the Vatican on June 7, in his Argentine radio and TV programs, Aleteia.org wrote on Monday.

His message to the Pope was contained in an editorial on his radio program which aired on April 9. Leuco began by saying: "I am not a believer, but I admire believers. And I believe in you and in the values you preach; in your Franciscan austerity, in your defense of the weakest and poorest, in coherence of life and thought, in your bid to create peace in the world and fraternal ecumenism among religions."

He then explained the reason why he wrote the editorial, which was later put in print as an open letter to the Pope. "You confess that you are a sinner. You recognize that you are not God and therefore are not perfect. That gives me courage to express to you my humble disagreement with your decision to receive a visit from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for a fifth time," said Leuco.

"I trust you can forgive my audacity. But down here, at the end of the earth and with my feet on the ground, I can tell you that a great number of Argentinians are upset, disgusted or disillusioned with the new visit that you scheduled for Cristina on June 7," the journalist said.

Leuco told the Pontiff that Kirchner will likely run for another government post and appearing next to him will only boost her campaign.

"She will be a candidate for governor or for a seat as a representative, and if that doesn't happen, she will personally lead her party's candidates around the country. She is a powerful woman from every perspective, and appearing next to her is a great help that is added to the Kirchners' use of the state system for their own benefit," Leuco said.

"Allow me to say to you, Pope Francis, whom I admire: You ask for clean hands, short nails, and ethics for public service, and this is the most corrupt government in the history of Argentina," he said. "You talk about helping the poor and this government stopped measuring poverty. You encourage the path of encounter and dialogue, and this government normalized hatred."

Leuco's open letter to the Pope quickly spread to social networks and other media. Two days later, the Pope learned about the letter.

On his 60th birthday, Leuco received a message from Guillermo Karcher, an Argentinian protocol officer in the Vatican and a close associate of Pope Francis. Karcher asked for his email, saying the leader of the Catholic Church read his open letter.

Leuco later received a voicemail from "Father Bergoglio, Francis."

The Pope thanked Leuco for his open letter and advised him to keep confidential his thoughts about how he felt he was used by the political class.

Here's the transcript of the Pope's voicemail:

"I received your letter of the past 9th of April (Open letter to Pope Francis) and I thank you with all my heart for what you have written.

"Your calm tone shows your desire to communicate in a straightforward way, and disagreements should be said peacefully and smoothly. There is not one sign of aggression there, and no haughty words. This attitude edifies, unites, and is constructive. Thank you, thank you very much.

"I will allow myself to share something with you. When I finished reading your letter, one of the Beatitudes came to my mind: 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.' (Mt. 5:4) Meekness, that attitude so linked to patience, to listening, to weighing things carefully and which – at times – is confused with timidity in the collective imagination. But that is not the case: in reality, it is a virtue of the strong. Thank you again."

As always, Francis ended his message by asking for prayers.

Leuco appeared to have been moved by the Pope's message. He later admitted in his radio-TV programs that he didn't know how to pray. But having read the Pope's appeal for prayers, he said he would ask his rabbi friends to teach him how to pray.