00:01Pope Leo XIV is kicking off a three-nation tour of Latin America with a visit to Uruguay,
00:08the region's most secular country, three weeks after undergoing lung cancer surgery
00:13that had put the entire trip into question.
00:16The Uruguay leg is the first stop on what will be the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate.
00:23According to media reports, Pope Leo is expected to recall the church's opposition to abortion
00:29and euthanasia as part of his broader argument about upholding human dignity in all phases of life.
00:37Uruguay is considered the most secular country in Latin America, which is home to 40% of the world's Catholics.
00:44Only a fraction of Uruguayans who identify as Catholic go to Mass regularly.
00:49Church officials in Uruguay have marveled at the apparent enthusiasm the visit has provoked,
00:54with reports that tickets to Leo's prayer vigil at Montevideo's Centenario Stadium were snapped up after two days.
01:03The trip will also bring Pope Leo to neighbouring Argentina and finally back home to Peru,
01:08where the Pope served as a missionary priest and bishop for two decades.
