Pope Francis recalled the origin of the Second World War, which will be 83 years old tomorrow, Thursday, and denounced that “today we are experiencing the third”, while calling for prayers “in a special way for the Ukrainian people.”
“Tomorrow they will remember the outbreak of World War II, which painfully marked the Polish nation”the pontiff told a group of faithful from Poland who participated today in the General Audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
“Today we are experiencing the third,” the Pope later lamented, returning to a concept that he had already used about a new world conflict that is taking place “in parts.”
In that framework, asked the Poles that “the memory of the experience leads them to cultivate peace in yourselves, in families and in social and international life”.
“Let us pray in a special way for the Ukrainian people,” he later asked the more than 6,000 faithful from all over the world present.
During his message, the Pope also raised his “concern about the violent events that have occurred in Baghdad in recent days.”
This week, dozens of supporters of the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed Iraq’s Republican Palace, a ceremonial building located in Baghdad’s Green Zone, after the Shiite leader announced his “definitive retirement” from politics amid crisis institutional, after which incidents broke out that left at least 15 dead and 350 injured.
“Let us ask God in prayer to give peace to the Iraqi population. Last year I had the joy of visiting it and I felt up close the great desire for normality and peaceful coexistence among the various religious communities that make it up,” the pontiff said later in reference to the trip he made in March 2021.
“Dialogue and fraternity are the master life to face the current difficulties and reach this goal”, he proposed later.
