WORLD : Mandela Meets Pope at Vatican
Black nationalist leader Nelson R. Mandela, in an audience with Pope John Paul II today, called on the Vatican to take a clear position supporting sanctions against South Africa in order to persuade Pretoria to dismantle apartheid.
The Pope received the African National Congress deputy president in a cordial private audience, but a spokesman said the pontiff was not taking a specific stand on sanctions.
A Vatican statement issued afterward said the Holy See supported “peaceful political evolution” in South Africa “with the progressive overcoming of the system of apartheid.”
The statement said this would lead to a society “based on pacification and reconciliation among all . . . with the guarantee of respect for the fundamental rights of each of its citizens.”
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