The Vatican's newspaper is urging the international community to welcome Afghan people fleeing the Taliban, expressing surprise that "no one thought through such a predictable scenario or did anything to avoid it before deciding to depart the country."

To avoid a "catastrophic humanitarian calamity," deputy editor Gaetano Vallini wrote on the front page of the Friday edition of L'Osservatore Romano that the West needed to take immediate action and welcome refugees.

The statement was especially harsh in its criticism of the United States, albeit it did not name Washington by name. “It would be even more serious if such a decision was adopted with knowledge of such catastrophic consequences,” Gallini wrote after expressing dismay at the upheaval generated by the US-led Western departure.

The Taliban's conquest of Afghanistan has plunged the country in anarchy, according to Pope Francis. Francis prayed for prayers for a stop to the violence and for Afghan men, women, and children to be able to live in "completely reciprocal" peace and security at his Sunday blessing.