FRANCES D'EMILIO
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday called for South Sudan politicians to salvage a tenuous peace deal and to bring a definitive end to conflicts to the African nation, which he announced he intends to visit in the coming year.
In public remarks from a Vatican palace window overlooking St. Peter's Square, Francis also urged South Sudan's leaders to find "consensus" for the good of the country, where hundreds of thousands of people died in a civil war several years ago.
President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar last week agreed to postpone forming a coalition government for 100 days to resolve security and governance issues.
"I direct special thoughts to the dear people of South Sudan, which I must visit this year," Francis said.
