Pope Francis, who is on a visit to Peru, has spoken out about violence against women in Latin America. Speaking at a Mass in the northern city of Trujillo, the Pope called the violence "a plague" that needed to be combated across the region. According to the UN, half of the 25 countries with the largest number of murders of women are in Latin America. "There are so many cases of violence that stay silenced behind so many walls," the Pope said on Saturday. On Thursday, the pontiff arrived in Peru from Chile, where he became embroiled in a row over clerical sex abuse.

Source: The Star January 21, 2018 00:11 UTC