Pope Francis calls upon G8 to work to stop violence in Syria

Pope Francis called upon the G8 group to work to stop violence in Syria immediately, urging its members to not limit their concern to economic issues but to also pay attention to the impoverished. In a letter addressed to British Prime Minister David Cameron who is hosting the G8 summit in Ireland, Pope Francis voiced hope that the summit will help contribute to an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Syria. He hoped that all sides in Syria will sit at the dialogue table without preconditions, calling for abandoning some demands in an astute manner in order to build a just peace. Pope Francis also said that economy and politics should serve people starting with the impoverished and the weak, stressing that morals should be an integral part of economic work and that poor people should be given attention in the basis of all economic activities.