VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis says he's praying for the dead in the U.S. Capitol rioting and has appealed for calm to prevail in the United States.
In his Sunday remarks at the Vatican, Francis noted that five persons had died when a mob stormed through the building where Congress was meeting on Jan. 6.
That meeting was to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Francis said “violence is always self-destructive."
The pope appealed to a “high sense of responsibility” by leaders and public to “calm souls” and help safeguard democratic values rooted in the United States.
A mob stormed the Capitol after U.S. President Donald Trump exhorted them to “fight like hell" to protest his U.S. electoral loss.
