Pope pledges to continue being a 'pest' in defence of the poor

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience at the Paul VI Audience Hall, at the Vatican, October 13, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday he realises some people, including within the Church, consider him to be "a pest" for defending the poor and most vulnerable, but that it won't stop him as it is part of Christianity.

"Thinking about these situations (of exclusion and inequality), I make a pest of myself with my questions. And I go on asking. And I ask everyone in the name of God," said Francis, Latin America's first pope.