Pope Francis Leaves Post-War Sri Lanka After Preaching Reconciliation

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Pope Francis started the second leg of his Asia tour on Thursday, departing from Sri Lanka after a two-day visit in which he preached a message of reconciliation between the country's different religious groups to huge crowds.

Francis visited a Church-founded, post-war reconstruction institute in Sri Lanka before boarding a flight to the Philippines, where he will stay until Monday. On Wednesday night he became only the second pope to visit a Buddhist temple.