pope condemns criminals in crimestricken peruvian city
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Pope condemns criminals in crime-stricken Peruvian city

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Pope condemns criminals in crime-stricken Peruvian city

Pope Francis .
Trujillo - Arab Today

Pope Francis on Saturday condemned "organized crime" and prayed for flood victims during a giant open air mass at a beach in Trujillo, Peru's crime-plagued largest northern coastal city.

Francis acknowledged the "insecurity" due to the high crime rate in the region, still struggling to rebuild after deadly devastating floods one year ago.

More than 130 people were killed across Peru between January and April 2017 in heavy rains, floods and landslides fueled by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which also left at least 300,000 homeless. Hardest-hit was Peru's northern coastal region.

Francis acknowledged that many families still could not rebuild their homes after the floods, then warned of the "storms" of organized crime.

The high crime rate meant fewer educational and work opportunities, preventing young people "from building a future with dignity," Francis said.

The mass was held on a swathe of beach in Huanchaco, a town in Trujillo some 560 kilometers (350 miles) north of Lima. Huanchaco is popular with surfers and known for its distinctive reed watercraft known as "caballitos de totora."

Some 6,000 police officers were on duty guarding the area during the papal visit, while sailors aboard a Coast Guard vessel kept an sharp eye just offshore during the beachside mass.

The pope then visited Trujillo's impoverished "Buenos Aires" neighborhood, which was especially hard hit by flooding last April.

He was then set to preside over a ceremony in the town square before some 35,000 followers and meet with clergy members.

As on Friday, Francis was accompanied by Peru's president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

On Sunday, Francis is scheduled to hold another beachside mass in Lima, which is covered in signs welcoming the pontiff.

- "Threatened" Amazon natives -

The visit is a change of pace after a politically charged first day in the Latin American country where the pope railed against "great business interests" for endangering the Amazon and its tribes.

On Friday, he had sounded a stark warning about the future of the rainforest and tribe members, saying they had "never been so threatened."

Bare-chested tribesmen, their bodies painted and their heads crowned with colorful feathers, danced and sang for the pope when he arrived in the Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado.

Thousands of indigenous people had traveled to meet the pontiff from throughout the Amazon basin region of Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

Pope Francis, 81, arrived Thursday afternoon in Peru, the second and last leg of a week-long South American visit.

During the first part of his visit, in Chile, Francis highlighted the plight of vulnerable immigrants, offered an apology to victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, prayed with survivors of Augusto Pinochet's brutal dictatorship, and called for protection of Chile's persecuted indigenous communities.

Before his visit to Chile, the US-based NGO Bishop Accountability said that almost 80 members of the Roman Catholic clergy had been accused of sexually abusing children in Chile since 2000.

At the pope's first public mass in Santiago on Tuesday he faced protests over the church's handling of decades of sexual abuse.

Source: AFP

 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

pope condemns criminals in crimestricken peruvian city pope condemns criminals in crimestricken peruvian city

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

pope condemns criminals in crimestricken peruvian city pope condemns criminals in crimestricken peruvian city

 



GMT 08:12 2017 Tuesday ,28 November

Government launches a campaign to eliminate corruption

GMT 18:43 2018 Thursday ,20 September

Russian PM does not rule out expansion of trade wars

GMT 09:28 2017 Saturday ,30 December

Ski jumping: 40,000 to see Four Hills take leap of faith

GMT 19:31 2017 Sunday ,16 April

Iran to export gas to Iraq

GMT 03:14 2017 Monday ,17 April

Kazakhstan Ambassador hails ties with Oman

GMT 20:57 2017 Wednesday ,20 September

Dubai Customs launches Partners’ Happiness Lab

GMT 18:32 2017 Monday ,30 October

CBE governor directs banks to expand funding

GMT 14:58 2017 Sunday ,19 February

Dhoni removed as Pune captain, Smith to take over

GMT 14:35 2017 Thursday ,19 January

Naidu comes to the defence of 'Dangal' actress Zaira

GMT 18:06 2016 Tuesday ,06 December

HHA launches Geely X7 Sport 4WD in Saudi market

GMT 05:42 2017 Saturday ,01 April

Toshiba soars on reports of memory chip unit bid

GMT 16:00 2018 Tuesday ,30 October

Five killed in Daesh attack in central Libya

GMT 01:37 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Education Minister congratulates Bahrain Bayan School

GMT 13:01 2015 Sunday ,23 August

New Suez Canal Project achievement for all Arabs
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday