Pope appeals for urgent food aid to help famine-stricken S. Sudan

Pope Francis called on Wednesday for urgent humanitarian aid for the starving people of South Sudan, saying millions risked being “condemned to death” by a famine in parts of the war-ravaged country. “Now more than ever there should be a commitment by everyone to not just talk but contribute food aid and allow it to reach suffering populations,” he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly audience. Since 2013 South Sudan has been mired in civil war, which the pope called “fratricidal”. President Salva Kiir, whose government declared a famine on Monday, has promised aid agencies safe access to hunger-stricken civilians.