Pope calls on G8 to 'uproot' poverty in Africa

Pope Benedict XVI expressed hope today that leaders at the G-8 summit will take concrete action to help wipe out poverty in Africa and share the costs of reducing the continent’s foreign debt.

Speaking to tourists and pilgrims in St Peter’s Square in Rome, Benedict noted that the annual gathering of leaders of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations begins on Wednesday in Gleneagles, Scotland.