Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI has offered his prayers for victims of Cyclone Nargis, the Vatican said Tuesday in a telegram sent to Myanmar's Catholic bishops. "Deeply saddened by news of the tragic aftermath of the recent cyclone, the Holy Father expresses his heartfelt sympathy," read the telegram, which was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Benedict "invokes God's peace upon the dead and divine strength upon the homeless and all who are suffering" Bertone said in the telegram addressed to the president of Myanmar's Bishops' Conference, the Archbishop of Mandalay, Paul Zinghtung Grawng.
The pontiff was "confident that the international community "will respond with generous and effective relief to the needs" of Myanmar's people.
As many as 15,000 people were estimated to have been killed in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis hammered the region with winds of 200 kilometres per hour on Friday and Saturday.
