Pope urges international community to help Pakistan
Posted August 18, 2010 1:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Pope Benedict XVI is appealing for aid for Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory.
The Pope said victims of the flooding need solidarity and concrete help from the international community.
He made the appeal Wednesday at the end of his general audience outside of Rome, where he is vacationing.
Benedict expressed his spiritual closeness to those who have suffered as floods submerged tens of thousands of villages and killed around 1,500 people, while leaving another 20-million homeless.
The global response to the crisis has been criticized for being slow, amid concerns from some aid donors that the funds might be embezzled by corrupt officials or might find their way to Islamic extremists.
The UN said Wednesday that it had secured less than half of the $460-million it required in emergency assistance.
About a fifth of Pakistani territory has been hit and some 20-million people have been displaced.
