Pope Francis said Saturday he was “astonished” by the attack on the U.S. Capitol and denounced the violence as an assault on democracy.

“I was astonished because they are people so disciplined in democracy,” the pontiff told an Italian news station in his first public comments on the mayhem.

“There is always something that isn’t working … (with) people taking a path against the community, against democracy, against the common good,” he said.

With Post wires