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.
He called the death of George Floyd "tragic", said he was praying for him and all who had died as a result of the "sin of racism", and said he was greatly disturbed by the social unrest that has followed.