Pope says Italy immigrant tensions a 'social emergency'
Pope Francis Ignoramus, enemy of European Peoples
Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Sunday described violent attacks on refugees in Rome as symptomatic of a "social emergency" that will only get worse if it is not addressed.
Addressing the crowds in St Peter's Square after his weekly Angelus sermon, the pontiff urged authorities and church officials to work to calm tensions after several days of mob attacks on a holding centre for asylum speakers in a rundown neighbourhood of the Italian capital.
"In recent days in Rome there have been quite strong tensions between residents and immigrants," the pontiff said, in a reference to the unrest in the Tor Sapienza district.
"These are things that can happen in different European cities, particularly in peripheral neighbourhoods already suffering from other problems.
"I call on the authorities, at every level, to address what now constitutes a social emergency which, if not dealt with soon in an adequate manner, risks degenerating further.
"The Christian community needs to get involved in a concrete manner to ensure we have a coming together not clashes.
"Citizens and immigrants can meet, even in parish rooms, to speak about the situation.
"It is possible to have dialogue, listen to each other and plan together, and in this way overcome suspicion and prejudice and build safe, peaceful and inclusive co-existence." ...
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