Pope Leo XIV visits the care and residential facility Don Orione Pequeno Cottolengo in Claypole, Argentina. (EPA Images pic)CLAYPOLE: Pope Leo XIV visited a home for people with disabilities on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Monday, telling Argentines that a nation's progress should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.
Thousands lined the roads leading to the Pequeno Cottolengo, a sprawling care home founded in 1935 for abandoned people with disabilities in the working-class Buenos Aires suburb of Claypole.
Addressing residents, staff and volunteers, Leo said disabled people were "not a burden on society" but "a blessing".
"A nation's progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs," he said.
