Pope sends message of hope to Brazil's poor
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Pope
Francis has issued the first social manifesto of his young pontificate, telling
slum dwellers in Brazil that the world's rich must do much more to wipe out
vast inequalities between the haves and the have-nots.
History's
first Latin American pope, in a speech on Thursday to residents of Manguinhos,
blasted the "culture of selfishness and individualism" that persists
in the world and encouraged efforts in Brazil to end hunger and poverty.
"No
one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world,"
he said.
His
speech, under rains that have persisted throughout most of his first trip
abroad as pope, comes halfway through a week-long visit around World Youth Day,
a gathering of young Catholics that is expected to attract more than a
million faithful to Rio de Janeiro and nearby sites.
Tens of
thousands of rapturous Brazilians and foreign visitors have turned out to
welcome the 76-year-old pope.
In
Manguinhos, Francis, an Argentine known for frequent outings into the slums
near Buenos Aires even as a Cardinal, smiled and visibly enjoyed the close
contact allowed with some of the residents there.
He called
for more efforts to end poverty and said the authorities must do more than just
crack down on the drug trade to ensure opportunities for those at
the bottom of the economic ladder.
"Everybody,
according to his or her particular opportunities and responsibilities, should
be able to make a personal contribution to putting an end to so many
social injustices," he said in an address on a muddy, rain-drenched soccer
field.
'Pacification'
of poor not enough
The pope
praised Brazil’s efforts over the last decade to reduced poverty in Latin
America's largest nation, which last month was rocked by massive protests
against corruption, the misuse of public money and the high cost of living.
But he
said more needed to be done to bridge the gap between rich and poor at the root
of social injustice, in a reference to the police occupation of Rio's
slums started last year to "pacify" drug-related violence.
"No
amount of "pacification" will be able to last, nor will harmony
and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins
or excludes a part of itself," he said in Manguinhos, home to about 35,000
poor people.
Francis,
who was known to visit poor neighbourhoods while he was the archbishop of
Buenos Aires, is putting into action his belief that the Catholic Church must
go to the farthest peripheries to preach and not sit back and wait for the most
marginalised to come to Sunday Mass.
Pope will
address hundreds of thousands of young Catholics on Copacabana beach as part of
the international celebration of World Youth Day.
More than
one million young Catholics are expected to descend on Rio de Janeiro on
Thursday.
Agencies
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