TRIESTE, Italy: Democracy is not in good shape, Pope Francis said on Sunday, urging politicians to shun populism and instead work together to build stronger societies and tackle voter apathy.
The 87-year-old pope was in the northeastern city of Trieste for a flying visit -- his fourth trip within Italy in just over two months as he prepares for a 12-day journey across Asia in September, the longest of his papacy.
Speaking at an annual Roman Catholic convention on social affairs, the pope said many people felt excluded from democracy, with the poor and the weak left to fend for themselves. “It is evident that democracy is not in good health in today’s world,” he said. A healthy democracy should avoid “the dross of ideology” and move away from partisanship to instead embrace meaningful dialogue, he said.“Let us not be deceived by easy solutions. Let us instead be passionate about the common good,” he said, highlighting the damage caused by political “corruption and illegality”.
He said it was important to teach children the importance of democratic values, warning that “indifference is a cancer of democracy”. “I am concerned about the small number of people who went to vote. Why is it happening?” he asked. The half-day visit to Trieste followed similar trips to Venice and Verona in April and May, and an address to Group of Seven leaders in southern Italy in June -- outings that have tested his stamina after repeated ailments over the past year that have sometimes forced him to curtail his workload.
An immigrant student attends first-grade teacher Dana Smith's class at the public elementary school in Charleroi,...
France’s Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau listens to French gendarmes during a French gendarmerie...
President Volodymyr Zelensky. — AFP/File MOSCOW: Russian forces said on Saturday they had captured another village...
Congolese people carry their belongings as they flee from their villages around Sake in Masisi territory, following...
The leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party , Herbert Kickl, holds a press conference on the coalition talks that...
A man wades through the waters in the affected area of monsoon flooding in Roshi village of Nepal's Kavre district on...