Pope Francis renews prayer for Venezuela

Pope Francis renews prayer for Venezuela

Members of the Venezuelan community in Italy wave flags and hold balloons as they attend the pope's Sunday Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square.- AFP

(Vatican Radio) The Pope during his Angelus  in St Peter's Square on Sunday once again addressed his thoughts to Venezuela. Greeting the Venezuelan Catholic community in Italy he renewed his prayer for what he called, this "beloved country".  Pope Francis' prayer comes on a crucial day for Venezuela: this Sunday marks the popular referendum promoted by the opposition to say no to the constituent assembly proposed by President Maduro. The country's bishops support the initiative, which is not recognized by the authorities, to counteract - they say - the attempt to establish a Marxist military dictatorship. Meanwhile, as the political crisis deepens, the humanitarian crisis worsens. Italian Caritas has published a report entitled which shows that over 11,000 children died in 2016 for lack of medicines and maternal mortality rose by almost 70%. Faced with the food, health and safety crisis, the Italian Bishops' Conference has also offered to contribute 500,000 euros.

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