Pope consoles victims in Peru reeling from floods, violence

TRUJILLO, Peru — Pope Francis consoled Peruvians who lost their homes and livelihoods in devastating floods last year, telling them Saturday they can overcome all of life's “storms” by coming together as a community and stamping out the violence that plagues this part of the country.

Francis traveled to an area of northern Peru that is frequently hit by “El Nino” storms and was inundated in 2017 by flooding that killed more than 150 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. Some residents are still living in tents.

At a seaside Mass for some 200,000 faithful, Francis said he wanted to come to the area to pray with those who lost everything and who must also contend with the “other storms that can hit these coasts, with devastating effects on the lives of the children of these lands.”

He cited organized violence and contract killings, a major problem in Peru and in the north in particular. He said Peruvians have shown life's greatest problems can be confronted when the community comes together “to help one another like true brothers and sisters.”

The first pope from Latin America has traveled throughout the region since becoming pontiff five years ago.

Francis sparked a national uproar in Chile on Thursday when he accused victims of the country's most notorious pedophile priest of having slandered another bishop, Juan Barros.

The victims say Barros knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it — a charge Barros denies.

On Saturday, Francis' top adviser on clerical sex abuse implicitly criticized the pontiff over his accusations against victims, calling his words “a source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse.”