WORLD NEWS APRIL 8, 2020 / 9:59 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Pope condemns those trying to make quick buck off coronavirus

Philip Pullella
3 MIN READ

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned people he said were exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to turn a quick profit and decried the “hypocrisy” of how some politicians are dealing with the crisis.

At the start of his morning Mass, the pope asked for a change of heart of those trying to make money from the misery of others.

He spoke of “those people who, in this time of a pandemic, have made a business of dealing with those in need, who take advantage of the needs of others and sell them out - the mafiosi, the loan sharks and many others.”

“May the Lord touch their hearts and convert them,” he said.

The pandemic has killed 81,400 people worldwide. More than 16,500 of them have been in Italy, one of the countries where authorities have been trying to clamp down on price gouging and other forms of illegal profiteering.

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