Pope Francis to visit impoverished Roma quarter in Slovakia

By KAREL JANICEK
Associated Press

KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) — Pope Francis is paying a visit next week to a neighborhood in Slovakia most Slovaks would not even think about going, where until recently even the police would avoid after dark. Francis will make his visit to the impoverished Roma community in Slovakia one of the highlights of his pilgrimage to “the heart of Europe.” He will be the first pontiff to meet the most socially excluded minority group in the Central European country. The Roma community in Lunik XI is the biggest one of about 600 shabby, segregated settlements where the poorest 20% of the country’s 400,000 Roma live. Mayor Marcel Sana says: “It’s a huge honor for us.”