Rome, Italy, Feb 11, 2009 / 08:53 am
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram to the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, expressing his condolences and spiritual closeness to the families and victims of the forest fires that have caused the deaths of more than 200 people in the southern part of the country.
In the telegram signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and made public by the Italian news agency SIR, the Pope “assures his closeness and prayers for all those affected, and he commends to the mercy of God the victims and invokes upon their families and on all those who suffer from the loss of property and the destruction of the earth, strength and divine comfort.”
Benedict XVI, the telegram states, “is praying for all those who are giving of themselves to provide assistance to the victims of the disaster, and he encourages them in their efforts to bring relief and sustenance.”
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