Pope Francis has called for global solidarity in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. He also warned the European Union that it risked collapse if it did not agree on how to help the region recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pope's Easter "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world message) delivered from an empty St. Peter's Basilica instead of to the usual crowd of tens of thousands in the square outside, was by far his most pressing and political since his election in 2013.
Saying the message of this year's "Easter of solitude" should be a "contagion of hope," he heaped praise on doctors, nurses and others risking their lives to save others and hailed those working to keep essential services running. "This is