Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to continue to help Haiti recover from recent natural disasters by offering concrete aid and support. Hurricanes swept through Haiti last year, killing hundreds of people, devastating agricultural production, crippling the nation's infrastructure and displacing about 9 percent of the population. The pope said he hoped the solidarity that has been shown by the international community would continue. "It is necessary that, in this particularly delicate period in the life of the nation, the international community offers concrete gestures of support to people in need," he said in a July 6 audience with Haiti's new ambassador to the Vatican, Carl-Henry Guiteau, who presented his credentials. Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters has led to more awareness about the need to safeguard creation, the pope added. (CNS)