Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the faithful to respect authorities' rules on the COVID crisis as he held his first weekly general audience for months in live streaming from an empty Apostolic Library, to which the sessions have returned because of a virus spike in Italy.
"Sadly we have had to return to this audience in the Library, and that is to defend ourselves from COVID contagion," said Francis.
"This teaches us, also, that we must be very attentive to the rules of the authorities, whether they be political or health, to defend ourselves from this pandemic.
"Let us offer the Lord this distance between us for the good of all," the pontiff went on, "and let us think: let us think very much of the sick, to those who have become disposable, and let us think of the doctors, nurses, voluntary workers, of all the many people working with the sick at this time, who are risking their lives, but doing so out of love.
"Their vocation is love for their fellow man. Let us pray for them. Thank you".
The pope also reiterated his "closeness" to the victims of Islamist terrorist attacks in Nice and Vienna.
He said these acts of terror were also aimed at "compromising the fraternity between faiths".
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