Pope urges U.S reconciliation, condemns racism and street violence

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis gestures as he leads the Regina Coeli prayer from his window for the first time in three months, previously delivered virtually due to measures to combat a spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican, May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis called for national reconciliation in the United States on Wednesday, saying that while racism is intolerable, the street violence that has broken out is "self-destructive and self-defeating".

Francis broke his silence on the tensions in the United States, which has seen eight nights of protests over the death of a black man in police custody, by dedicating the entire English-language section of his weekly audience to the turmoil there.