VATICAN CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2021) Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the acts of violence, which took place earlier this week in the US Capitol building, and called on the US authorities and people to maintain a sense of responsibility.
On January 6, thousands of US President Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying the presidential election results. The protesters attacked police with metal pipes and chemical irritants, damaged property, seized the inauguration stage and occupied the rotunda inside the Capitol building. The violent entry into the building resulted in the death of five people.
"I exhort the government authorities and the entire population to maintain a deep sense of responsibility, in order to calm souls, to promote national reconciliation and to protect the democratic values rooted in American society," Pope Francis said, as quoted by the Holy See, in his traditional Sunday address to believers.
The pontiff added that he prays for those who lost their lives and reiterated that violence has the self-devastating nature.
"May the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States of America, help keep alive the culture of encounter, the culture of care, as the royal road to build together the common good; and I do so with all those who live in that land," the pope said.
The attack on the Capitol building came after Trump urged his allies to keep fighting to overturn the election results.
Following the developments, Trump has been blocked on major social media platforms, while Democratic lawmakers have begun a motion to remove him from office.
