Pope Leo begins South America tour

MONTEVIDEO: Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay as he began a 12-day tour of South America in 'fairly good shape.' Leo's sixth international tour takes him to the continent that helped shape his priesthood, just three weeks after surgery for a tumor on his right lung. The 71-year-old pontiff will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on one of the most intense papal trips in decades, meeting political leaders, prisoners and the poor, as well as old friends.
Thousands of people, some waving yellow-and-white Vatican flags, lined the seafront of Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, to greet him as he waved from a custom-made popemobile. Speaking in a half-empty Plaza Independencia, after being welcomed by left-wing President Yamandu Orsi, the pope lamented Uruguay's high suicide rates and appealed for healthcare to be 'accessible to everyone.'
He said the care he received after his lung cancer diagnosis made him think of the 'many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis' or receive treatment. The highlight of his tour will be Peru, where he spent nearly two decades and which he has referred to as 'one of my many homes.' — AFP