Pope Francis Daily

(NPR) Pope Francis met with the president of Venezuela on Monday for a private conversation about that country’s acute political and economic crisis, as the Vatican announced it would be mediating a meeting between Venezuela’s government and the opposition.

A statement from the Holy See, as translated by Catholic News Agency, said the pope encouraged President Nicolas Maduro “to undertake with courage the path of sincere and constructive dialogue” and “to alleviate the suffering of the people — first of all, those who are poor.”

For months, majority-Catholic Venezuela — a country with rich oil reserves — has struggled with food shortages, a lack of medical supplies, runaway inflation, power outages and business shutdowns.