A giant Christ statue in Peru's capital that was donated by a construction company at the center of Latin America's largest corruption scandal was damaged Saturday in a fire, days before Pope Francis is set to arrive in the South American nation. Peruvians awoke to find nearly the entire back of the statue, perched on a barren desert bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, charred black. In January 2017, vandals covered the statue in messages like "Out of the country Odebrecht." The Christ statue's burning comes five days before Francis is scheduled to arrive in Peru. The pope has hoped to highlight the need to protect the Amazon rainforest during his visit, but Peruvians will be paying close attention to whether he addresses corruption.

Source: ABC News January 13, 2018 16:35 UTC