Pope Francis on Monday praised
Latvia's ability to promote effective strategies giving priority
to family life rather than the economy, addressing political
leaders in Riga on the third day of his Baltic pilgrimage.
"At the end of this meeting we will travel to the Freedom
Monument, where children, youths and families will be present",
the pontiff said after arriving in the country Monday morning
from Lithuania.
"They remind us that the 'maternity' of Latvia", an analogy
suggested by the motto of his trip to Latvia - Show Thyself a
Mother - "is echoed by the ability to promote strategies that
are truly effective and focused on the concrete faces of these
families, these elderly, children and youths, more that on the
supremacy of the economy over life".
The pontiff's four-day Baltic tour is wrapping up Tuesday in
Estonia.
The pope is visiting the three Baltic countries to mark their
100th anniversary of independence and to encourage faith in the
area, which endured half a century of Soviet-imposed religious
repression.
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