Corruption

Pope Francis takes his message to squatters in Paraguay slum after railing against corruption as the 'gangrene of society'

Pope Francis put into practice his call for the world's poor and powerless not to be left on the margins of society by visiting a flood-prone slum and insisting that the Catholic Church be a place of welcome for all.

On the final day of his three-nation South American tour, the Pontiff sought to offer a message of hope to the residents of the Banado Norte shantytown and to hundreds of thousands of people gathered for his farewell Mass on the same swampy field where St John Paul II proclaimed Paraguay's first saint nearly 30 years ago.