In remarks following his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square yesterday, Pope Benedict sent his hopes of success to the G8 leaders meeting in Gleneagles Scotland later this week and called on them to focus serious attention on the plight of the African continent.

One of the major themes of the meeting of the heads of the eight most industrialized nations in the world (G8), scheduled to meet from July 6th through 8th is Africa, "a frequently forgotten continent."

The Holy Father said that, "With all my heart, I wish full success to this meeting, in the hope that it may lead to sharing the costs of debt reduction in solidarity, implementing concrete measures for eradicating poverty and promoting authentic development in Africa."