

(See related story on Italy’s political crisis) (ANSA) – ROME, FEB 8 – Pope Francis called on the Italian
people to show unity on Monday, with the country in the grip of
a political crisis in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Italian people was the first in Europe to find itself faced
with the consequences of the pandemic,” he said in an audience
with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.
“I call on it not to let the current difficulties defeat it, but
to work in unity to build a society in which no one is cast
aside or forgotten”.
The pope also recalled that this year Italy is celebrating the
700th anniversary of the death of Dante. (ANSA).