Posted on 09/10/2013 6:39:35 PM PDT by haffast
Pope Francis made a private visit to the Astalli refugee center in Rome on Tuesday, and, while meeting with several hundred refugees, singled out a Syrian family to listen to their story. The family was given time with the pope during the visit to represent the present emergency in their homeland, an Astalli representative told Radio Vaticana. The Pope also talked with a Sudanese man.
Astalli is a high-volume refugee center run by Pope Francis’ own Jesuit order—more than 21 thousand refugees, from regions including Afghanistan, Egypt, and sub-Saharan Africa, passed through Centro Astalli last year. Many of the undocumented migrants are Muslims fleeing violence in the Middle East and Africa. The center, a branch of the Jesuit Refugee Service, offers three shelters, a language school, and health and legal services, as well as special care for victims of torture who need psychiatric or psychological care.
Pope Francis has prioritized refugees from the very beginning of his papacy.
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Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/09/10/pope-francis-visits-a-syrian-refugee-family/#ixzz2eXlQelnx
(Excerpt) Read more at swampland.time.com ...
The People’s Pope.
Just when we needed him.
We needed JP2 to stand with Reagan and Thatcher.
Now God sends us a man who, in his humility, sends out one of the most extreme messages of any Pope since Peter I.
In the midst of so much strife, we are blessed.
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