Pope Francis begins tour of Latin America

(Baonghean.vn)- Pope Francis chose Ecuador as the starting point for his seven-day trip to Latin America.

Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa called the Pope's visit a great honor for the country.

Pope Francis will also visit Bolivia and Paraguay as part of his second trip to the continent since becoming Pope in 2013.

He is the first Pope from South America. During his trip, he is expected to devote much of his attention to poverty and inequality.

In 2007, before he became Pope, he told a group of Latin American clergy that the continent was the most unequal in the world. On his last visit there, he also spoke about his thoughts on the issue before millions of Brazilians at Copacabana Beach.

According to Bolivian Culture Minister Marko Machicao, one of the Pope's requests when he arrived in the country was to chew coca leaves. Coca is known to be the main ingredient of cocaine, which has been used in the Andes for thousands of years to combat altitude sickness and as a stimulant.

The Pope will visit Cuba this September before beginning his visit to the United States. The Pope was instrumental in easing the tense relations between the United States and Cuba last December.

Vo Ngoc Trung

(Source BBC)