Pope Francis made an impassioned plea Sunday, part of it in Spanish, for an end to the growing violence in Peru by the demands for the resignation of the president.
Addressing some 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly appearance in a window of the Apostolic Palace, Francis said he invited them to pray “so that the acts of violence in Peru stop.”
“Violence extinguishes the hope of finding a just solution to the problems,” added the pontiff, who encouraged all the parties involved “to take the path of dialogue between brothers of the same nation, with full respect for human rights and the Rule of law”.
Francis then switched from speaking Italian to Spanish to exclaim: “I join the Peruvian bishops in saying: No to violence, wherever it comes from! No more deaths!”.
Francisco, originally from Argentina, noted that there were Peruvians among the faithful in the square on Sunday.
Until recently, the growing protests in Peru were concentrated in the south of the country. They began last month, after then-President Pedro Castillo, the first leader with a rural Andean background, was accused and imprisoned for trying to dissolve Congress.
Now the protesters demand the resignation of Dina Boluarte, the former vice president who took office on December 7 to replace Castillo. They also want Congress dissolved and new elections held. Castillo is currently in custody on charges of rebellion.
At least 55 people have died due to the unrest.
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