Pope Francis called for “peace in the martyred Ukraine” and lamented that “signs” of an economic and food crisis due to the war with Russia are already being seen, when he gave his speech in front of a crowd. traditional Easter blessingduring which he also lamented the “cases of crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking” in Latin America.
“Let there be peace in the martyred Ukraine, so harshly tested by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war to which it has been dragged,” the pontiff said during the Urbi et Orbi (“to Rome and the World”) blessing. of Easter Sunday, during which he usually refers to world conflicts.
“May a new dawn of hope dawn soon on this terrible night of suffering and death. May peace be chosen,” said Jorge Bergoglio, 85, speaking in front of nearly 100,000 faithful present in Saint Peter’s Squareaccording to
Vatican estimates.
“Let there be peace in the martyred Ukraine, so harshly tested by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it has been dragged”
After more than two years without a mass public due to the pandemic, the pontiff took the opportunity to tour the Plaza in the uncovered popemobile before starting the message on the day that Christians around the world commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after being crucified.
In the message, his twenty-ninth explicit reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began last February, the Pope demanded “that they stop making shows of force while the people suffer.”
Pope (@Pontifex_es) called for “peace in the martyred Ukraine” and lamented that there are already “signs” of an economic and food crisis resulting from the war with Russia, when he gave his traditional Easter blessing in front of a crowd
? @vaticannews_en pic.twitter.com/ASF2lktaqj
—Telam Agency (@TelamAgency) April 17, 2022
“Please, let’s not get used to war, let’s all commit ourselves to asking for peace with a powerful voice, from the balconies and in the streets,” Francis said in front of the faithful, among whom was the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol , Ivan Fedorov, and three parliamentarians from the European country with whom he met privately on Saturday.
Francis, who gave his blessing after having celebrated the Resurrection Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, also claimed “that those responsible for nations listen to the people’s cry for peace, that they listen to that disturbing question that scientists asked themselves almost sixty years ago: Are we going to put an end to the human race; or shall humanity renounce war?“, included in a paper written by Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell in 1955.
The Pope, who has already expressed his gratitude several times to the countries that are hosting Ukrainian refugees, especially Poland, said that he carries “in his heart the numerous Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly who have been left alone, to the shattered lives and the devastated cities”.
“I have before my eyes the eyes of the children who were orphaned and flee from the war. Looking at them we cannot help but perceive their cry of pain, along with that of many other children who suffer throughout the world: those who die of hunger or for lack of medical care, those who are victims of abuse and violence, and those who have been denied the right to be born,” Bergoglio lamented.
In this context, Francis highlighted as “hopeful signs” the “open doors of so many families and communities that welcome migrants and refugees throughout Europe.”
In any case, the Pope asked “that the conflict in Europe also make us more attentive to other situations of tension, suffering and pain that affect too many regions of the world and that we cannot and must not forget.”
Latin America and the Middle East
Elected in 2013 the first Latin American Pope in history, Francis recalled his region of origin and asked “that the risen Christ accompany and assist the peoples of Latin America that, in these difficult times of pandemic, have seen their social conditions worsen, in some cases, also aggravated by cases of crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking.
In his usual reference to conflicts around the world, the Pope focused, as usual, on Middle East“torn for years by divisions and conflicts”, and asked “that the Israelis, the Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, can experience the beauty of peace, live in brotherhood and freely access to the Holy Places, mutually respecting the rights of each one”.
Francis also included requests for “peace and reconciliation” to Lebanon -where, according to what Vatican sources told Télam, he could travel on June 12- Syria and Iraqcountry, the latter, which he visited in March 2021, within a particular memory to “all the Christian communities that live in the Middle East”.
world petition for peace
After calling for an end to the conflicts in Libya, Yemen, Myanmar and AfghanistanFrancisco focused on his request for peace for “the entire African continent, so that the exploitation of which it is a victim and the hemorrhage caused by terrorist attacks, especially in the Sahel area, end, and that it find concrete help in the fraternity of the peoples”.
In particular, he referred to Ethiopia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congowhich he will visit the first week of July on a tour that will also include South Sudan.
In another reference to a country he will visit this year, Francis asked for “andhe path of reconciliation that the Canadian Catholic Church is following with indigenous peoples“, on the eve of the trip to the North American nation at the end of July.
“Dear brothers and sisters, every war brings with it consequences that affect all of humanity: from the mourning and drama of the refugees, to the economic and food crisis of which signs are already being seen,” the Pope lamented.
“Every war brings with it consequences that affect all of humanity: from the mourning and drama of the refugees, to the economic and food crisis of which signs are already being seen”
On the fourth consecutive day of Easter activities, Francis ended the blessing stating that “peace is possible, peace is necessary, peace is everyone’s main responsibility.”
On Monday at noon, Francis will pray the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven), the prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary for the resurrection of her son Jesus Christ, which replaces the Angelus prayer during Easter.
Then he will lead, in St. Peter’s Square, at 6 pm in Rome, a meeting with the boys and girls who participate in the Pilgrimage of Adolescents organized by the Italian Church for which some 60,000 young people are expected.
Pope (@Pontifex_es) called for “peace in the martyred Ukraine” and lamented that there are already “signs” of an economic and food crisis resulting from the war with Russia, when he gave his traditional Easter blessing in front of a crowd
? @vaticannews_en pic.twitter.com/ASF2lktaqj
—Telam Agency (@TelamAgency) April 17, 2022
