Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis called on Sunday for the leaders of nations to “listen” to the cry for peace in a “Passover of War” in which he referred to a Ukraine “martyred” by the conflict.
“We have seen too much blood, too much violence,” the pope said. in his traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi” in front of about 50,000 faithful in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
The Argentine pope asked the faithful not to “get used to wars.”
“Let us all commit ourselves to calling for peace with a powerful voice, from the balconies and in the streets,” he exhorted the crowd, which responded with applause.
The spiritual leader of some 1.3 billion Catholics has been insisting for weeks on the need for peace in Ukraine, after the invasion of the country since February 24 by Russian troops.
“I carry in my heart the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly who have been left alone, the shattered lives and the devastated cities,” the pontiff said.
The pope also celebrated that “in the midst of pain” there is no lack of “hopeful signs, such as the open doors of so many families and communities that welcome migrants and refugees throughout Europe.”
