Pope urges global response to migrant crisis

Pope Francis has urged the international community to act over a surge in the numbers of migrants attempting to reach Italy in dangerous sea crossings from north Africa.
The pontiff's appeal came at the end of a week in which more than 450 people are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean.

Pope Francis urges G20 leaders not to forget the poor

Pope Francis has called on G20 leaders not to forget the poor, saying to do so would be "regrettable" as the heads of the world's most powerful economies prepare to meet in Australia.

The Group of 20 leaders are expected to sign off in Brisbane this weekend on a pledge to boost the level of their combined economic output by at least two percent above the currently projected level in the next five years, creating millions of jobs.
In a letter to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who holds the G20's rotating presidency, the pope said world powers "must not forget that many lives are at stake behind these political and technical discussions".

Pope backs action to protect Iraq minorities if U.N. OKs

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamist militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community — and not just one country — should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.

Pope, in Syria peace appeal, calls for end to spiral of death/Αγρυπνία στο Βατικανό κατά του πολέμου στη Συρία.-«Ο πόλεμος είναι πάντα μια ήττα της ανθρωπότητας»

Έκκληση προς όλες τις πλευρές να «εργαστούν υπέρ της ειρήνης και της συμφιλίωσης» και να θέσουν τέρμα στον πόλεμο, «ο οποίος πάντα είναι μια ήττα της ανθρωπότητας», απηύθυνσε ο Πάπας Φραγκίσκος, κατά την αγρυπνία στην οποία τελείται προσευχή για τη Συρία.
Μιλώντας ενώπιον των 70.000 πιστών που είχαν συγκεντρωθεί από όλο τον κόσμο στην πλατεία του Αγίου Πέτρου ο Ποντίφικας ζήτησε να «ακολουθηθεί άλλος δρόμος, διαφορετικός από αυτόν του πολέμου».
«Μέσα στο πολυαγαπημένο συριακό κράτος, στη Μέση Ανατολή, παντού στον κόσμο, ας προσευχηθούμε για την συμφιλίωση, για την ειρήνη, ας εργαστούμε για την συμφιλίωση, για την ειρήνη» συνέχισε στο κήρυγμά του ο Πάπας.

Ankara upset at Vatican for pope’s remarks on mass killings of Armenians

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Turkey has reacted angrily to the Vatican following a statement from Pope Francis describing the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first genocide of the twentieth century” during a meeting with a delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June 3.

“The Turkish Foreign Ministry delivered Turkey’s views on the issue and expressed disappointment to the embassy in Ankara and Vatican in Rome yesterday,” a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News on June 7.
Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century” during a meeting with a delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June 3.