Revealed: Pope’s Regular Phone Calls to Argentine Prison

From Vatican Radio: 

Pope Francis has a fortnightly telephone appointment with a youth prison in Buenos Aires, where he speaks to the young people incarcerated there. The head of the Vatican Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, revealed this during a press conference in Mexico City on Friday. When asked about the prison riot at Topo Chico prison in Monterrey, Mexico, which left 49 people dead, Fr. Lombardi said the event had “troubled the heart” of Pope Francis. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit a prison near the end of his visit to Mexico in the city of Juarez, which Fr. Lombardi said was still on the schedule, adding Pope Francis has a strong commitment to ministry to prisoners. “Not only has he visited penitentiaries in Rome, such as the Holy Thursday ceremony in Rebibbia, where he met with detainees” – Father Lombardi said – “Pope Francis also every 15 days carries out a telephone conversation with young prisoners in Buenos Aires.”