LUANDA, (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday urged Catholics in Angola, where a belief in spirits and sorcerers has led many to abandon the Church for self-styled sects, to shun witchcraft and woo back those who have left.
The 81-year-old pope, showing signs of fatigue in the sweltering and humid heat, said a mass for several thousand people inside a church as thousands followed the service outside.
In his homily, he urged his listeners to reach out to those Angolans who believe in witchcraft and spirits.
"So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they even end up condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers," he said.
Last year, police rescued 40 children who had been held in a house by two religious sects after being accused by their own families of witchcraft. The sects' leaders were later arrested
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