Pope asks for lasting financial answers

POPE BENEDICT XVI has challenged world leaders to make significant changes to the global financial system, saying short-term answers to the financial crisis weren’t sufficient.

“It’s not enough, as Jesus said, to put patches on an old suit,” Benedict said in his New Year’s Day blessing to thousands of people huddled under umbrellas in St Peter’s Square.

Echoing a similar theme in his New Year’s Day homily, Benedict said the crisis should be seen as a test case about the future of globalisation.