Pope Francis leads the Immaculate Conception celebration prayer in Piazza di Spagna in downtown Rome. Photo: ReutersPope Francis lamented the decay and degradation of Rome on Friday (local time), using a traditional prayer on a national feast day to highlight problems such as environmental blight and corruption in the Italian capital. Francis, who is also bishop of Rome, prayed that the residents of the city develop "antibodies against some viruses of our times". On Friday, the pope spoke of the need to help "so many people who have emigrated here from places of war and hunger". The investigation of the crime ring laid bare systemic corruption in the city as politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen hooked up with lowlife criminals to rig public tenders.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 09, 2017 02:48 UTC