Francis appeals to shelter homeless

Pope Francis launched an appeal for homeless families, after praying the Angelus with faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square this Sunday – the fourth Sunday of Advent, Vatican radio reported.

Prompted by a banner in St Peter’s Square that read, “The Poor Cannot Wait!” Pope Francis spoke of the great difficulties that families without fixed dwelling face – not unlike the Holy Family, to whom the Lord Jesus was born in a barn, and that experienced forced flight from their native land into Egypt. “Family and home go together,” said Pope Francis. He went on to say, “I call on everyone: individuals, organs of society, authorities, to do everything possible to assure that every family has a place to live.”