The 12th anniversary of Pope Francis’ pontificate were marked by the recurring complaints of the head of the Catholic Church against the ongoing wars in the world, in particular conflicts in the Gaza and Ukraine strip, but also the wars in Sudan, Congo, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.
In the last public appearance on Sunday (20) of Easter, Pope Francis, once again, appealed for peace in Ukraine and the ceasefire in Gaza.
There were several manifestations of the Catholic leader about Gaza. Almost every night, he called the Palestinian enclave parish to find out how the local community was. “It is with pain I think of Gaza. Yesterday children were bombarded. This is cruelty. This is not war,” Francisco said in the 2024 Christmas speech.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Church, recalls Pope Francis’ last call – Photo: Vatican News/Disclosure
Pope Francis suggested that the global community should study If Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza is a genocide of the Palestinian people. The head of the church was also defending the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which has been prevented by Israel.
In addition, he criticized the supposed military excesses of Israel. “The defense must always be proportional to attack. When there is something disproportionate, you see a trend of domination that goes beyond morality,” he said in September 2024.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, who leads the parish of Gaza, said he spoke to the Pope last time on Saturday (19).
“We hope that the appeals he has made will be answered: that the bombs will be silenced, that this war will end, that hostages and prisoners are released and that humanitarian aid to the population can be resumed and arrive consistently,” said Romanelli to Vatican News.
Image on 3/18/2025 shows area hit by Israeli attack on Jabalia, in the north of the Gaza Strip – Reuters/Mahmoud Issa/Prohibited Reproduction
Ukraine
The war in Ukraine also worried the leader of the Catholic Church. Both he and other representatives of the Vatican maintained dialogue with Russians and Ukrainians to reach an agreement that would lead to the end of the conflict, to exchange prisoners and other respite.
In November 2022, before the war of Ukraine completed a year, Francis revealed to journalists conversations with authorities from Ukraine and Russia and said that it was the beginning of a new World War.
“In a century, three world wars! The 1914-1918, the 1939-1945, and this! This is a world war, because it is true that when the empires, whether on one side or the other, need to make a war to feel strong and also to sell weapons! Because today I believe that the biggest calamity in the world is the arms industry,” he said.
Buildings destroyed in Mariupol, southern Ukraine – Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters/Rights Reserved
Encyclical papal
In the last papal encyclical of Francis (the most important document signed by the head of the Catholic Church), Published in October 2024, The Pope warned that the ongoing wars are making humanity lose “his heart.”
“Watching successive new wars, with complicity, tolerance or indifference from other countries, or with simple power of power around interests, we may think that world society is losing its heart,” said Francisco.
The first Latin American Pope stressed that just look and hear the grandparents of victims of armed conflict. “It is bleak to see them cry the murdered grandchildren, or hear them wish their own death because they lost their house where they always lived,” he said. The pontiff added that seeing his grandparents cry “without being intolerable is a sign of a heartless world.”
To the Publish the Encyclical Laudato Si ‘, in 2015the Pope already warned of increasing wars in the world. “It is predictable that, given the exhaustion of some resources, if it will create a favorable scenario for new wars, disguised under noble claims,” said the pontiff.
