Winding up his “homecoming” tour to Latin America, Pope Francis appealed to world leaders to seek a new economic model to help the poor. On Saturday
ADVERTISEMENTWinding up his “homecoming” tour to Latin America, Pope Francis appealed to world leaders to seek a new economic model to help the poor.
On Saturday he had called for an end to policies that “sacrifice human lives on the altar of money and profit”.
In Paraguay on Sunday he gave an outdoor mass before huge crowds in Asunción after visiting a huge nearby shantytown earlier.
Pope Francis urged people to “embrace hospitality”.
“Hospitality with those who don’t think like us, with those who don’t have faith or who have lost it, and sometimes because of us. Hospitality with the persecuted, with the unemployed, hospitality with diverse cultures, which this country is rich in,” Pope Francis said.
Thousands had travelled from neighbouring Argentina including President Cristina Kirchner for the pope’s final mass in Paraguay.
His tour also took him to Ecuador and Bolivia, among the continent’s poorest countries.
Castigating rampant capitalism and defending the poor has been a regular theme, while Francis has also attacked corruption during his visit and warned of irreparable damage to the planet.