DHAKA: Pope Francis has phoned an Argentine woman to comfort her and tell her she is not alone after she wrote a letter to him saying she was raped by a policeman.

Pope Francis has brought an informal, friendly style to the papacy since his election in March, including a habit of telephoning people who write to him with personal stories that catch his attention.

Alejandra Pereyra, 44, told Argentine television Canal 10 that she had to ask him to repeat his name but she felt ‘touched by the hand of God’ when she realised she was the latest person to receive a personal call from Pope Francis, reports The Straits Times.

In a video of the interview posted on YouTube, she said the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics told her during the half-hour conversation on August 25 that he received thousands of letters every day but her story had moved him.

BDST: 1957 HRS, AUG 28, 2013
RoR/RIS