Pope Francis left Rome's
Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci airport on Monday on his way to
Chile and told reporters onboard that he fears a nuclear war.
The Argentine pontiff is set to arrive in Santiago after
almost 16 hours, at 8:10 PM local time, just after midnight in
Italy.
The weeklong visit, the 22nd trip abroad of Francis's papacy
and the sixth involving Latin America, will also take in Peru.
The pope said the trip would be demanding: "three days in one
country, three in another. It won't be very difficult in Chile
because I studied there for a year and I have a lot of friends
there. I know it well.
"Peru, however," he added, "I don't know as well. I have been
there two or three times for conferences and meetings."
On the potential for a nuclear war in the current political
clime, the pope gave the reporters a photo of the aftermath of
the atomic blast in Nagasaki in 1945 and told them that " I am
truly afraid. We are at the limit".
"All it takes is a mishap to start a war. The situation risks
precipitating from this step," he added. "So it is necessary to
destroy the weapons. Let's strive for nuclear disarmament".
On the photo, he said that "I found this by coincidence. It
was taken in 1945. It is of a child with his little brother on
his shoulders, waiting for his turn at the crematory in Nagasaki
after the bomb. I cried when I saw it. I thought about it, dared
to write 'the result of war' on it, print it and share it
because a photo moves people more than a thousand words. And I
wanted to share it with you."
Pope Francis's first stop will be Santiago, where he will be
met at the airport by outgoing socialist president Michelle
Bachelet before being taken to the Apostolic Nunciature, where
he will be spending the nights during his stay in the city.
On leaving Italy, he sent a traditional telegram of greetings
to President Sergio Mattarella, who replied by saying that this
trip by the pope "will constitute for Chile and Peru the highest
proof of the Church's focus on building a more equal and just
society".
Meanwhile, at least four bomb attacks were made Friday on
churches in Chilean capital Santiago in protests against Pope
Francis's visit, local media reported in citing police sources.
In one of the firebomb attacks, on the church of Santa
Isabel de Hungría near the central station, the attackers left a
note saying "Pope Francis, the next bombs will (explode) under
your robes".
Francis is expected to face protests in Chile, especially
against the appointment of a bishop who allegedly shielded the
country's most notorious clerical sexual predator.
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