Pope tells bishops he shares their concerns about Guatemala

Published: 2008-03-06

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of Guatemala he shares their concern about growing poverty and violence in the country, and he encouraged them to respond with an even stronger outreach of education and charity. The pope decried "the growing poverty and violence that affect large sectors of the population, provoking a strong emigration to other countries with serious consequences for the individual and the family." He met March 6 with the Guatemalan bishops, who were making their "ad limina" visits to report on the status of their dioceses. Guatemala's long civil war ended more than a decade ago, but violence connected to crime, particularly drug trafficking, continues to increase, as does the proportion of people living in poverty, Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruno of Guatemala City told Vatican Radio before the "ad limina" visit. Pope Benedict told the bishops the Catholic Church must respond to the needs of the Guatemalan people with "the merciful face of the Lord, of which the church is called to be an image, accompanying and serving with generosity and commitment especially those who suffer and have been abandoned."

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