Vatican sends aid to Gaza 'to ease suffering'

The Vatican said on Saturday that it sent monetary aid to the Gaza Strip in the name of Pope Benedict XVI to help relief efforts being carried out by the tiny Catholic presence in Gaza. It said the funds dispatched by the Vatican's office for charitable initiative will be used by pastors and nuns including from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity group who are helping the particularly vulnerable in Gaza. The Vatican declined to say how much was being sent. It says the "homeland" of Jesus was being tragically scourged by death, pain and material damage.