“The government chose to downplay the celebration of April 25th, it made a mistake. It made a mistake by not knowing how to assess Portuguese feelings regarding this date”, said Pedo Nuno Santos, in Porto, after a meeting with leaders of the European Anti-Poverty Network Portugal.

The socialist leader said he saw this decision by the Government, “like the majority of Portuguese people, badly”, considering that celebrating the 25th of April is not disrespecting the Pope, “quite the opposite”.

“Those who know the example of Pope Francis know that he was a lover of freedom and equality, which are two of the values ​​that we celebrate on April 25th,” he highlighted.

The PS leader was speaking to journalists at the end of a meeting with leaders of the European Anti-Poverty Network Portugal, which aimed to bring the fight against poverty in Portugal to the political agenda of the pre-campaign for the legislative elections on 18 May.

The three days of mourning for the death of Pope Francis began today and will continue until Saturday, the day of the funeral ceremonies.