Pope draws 2.5 million to Mass in Argentina and tells people with disabilities they are a blessing

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Pope Leo XIV visited a home for people with disabilities Monday and told them their lives were a blessing, not a burden, as he pressed his call for Argentina to care for its most vulnerable in a symbolic rebuke of President Javier Milei’s austerity measures.

Before drawing an estimated 2.5 million people to his first Mass in Argentina, Leo made a pilgrimage to the Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, south of Buenos Aires. Founded by an Italian priest in 1935, the institution houses more than 400 people with disabilities on its 123-acre (50-hectare) grounds.

The center, known as the “city of charity,” has been hit hard by Milei’s austerity measures, which have severely affected healthcare and social services. Milei has taken his signature chain saw to specialized therapy programs that for decades have been a lifeline for many of Argentina’s estimated 5 million people with disabilities, freezing payments and dismantling a vital safety net.

Some residents and employees wept as Leo arrived Monday and embraced people in wheelchairs. He told them their lives were a blessing, not a burden on society.

“You can help us to remember the foundation of the dignity of every human being…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world