Addressing the entire world in his traditional Easter Message, Pope Francis recalled the war in Ukraine, the countries tormented by long conflicts and violence and affected by social tensions and humanitarian crises. Around 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
«Our eyes are also incredulous in this Easter of war. We have seen too much blood, too much violence. Our hearts have also been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have,” Francis said in his message.
Francis said the world had emerged from two years of the pandemic “which took a heavy toll” and should have emerged “together, hand in hand, pooling our strengths and resources.” “Instead, we are showing that we still do not have within us the spirit of Jesus, but the spirit of Cain, who saw Abel not as a brother, but as a rival, and thought of how to eliminate him,” he said.
The pope has been an outspoken critic of the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February and devoted much of his Sunday message to working for peace. Last week he called for an “Easter truce” between Russia and Ukraine. “Let there be peace for a war-torn Ukraine, so harshly tested by the violence and destruction of a cruel and senseless war that it was dragged into,” he said.
“In this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon appear! Let him decide for peace!
In an apparent message to President Vladimir Putin, Francis said he wanted “the leaders of nations to listen to the plea of the people for peace.”
“I have in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the shattered lives and the razed cities. I see the faces of orphaned children. running away from war,” she said.
The Pope also said that the war in Europe showed “encouraging signs” for humanity such as the open doors of all those families and communities that welcome migrants and refugees. “May these numerous acts of charity become a blessing for our societies, sometimes degraded by selfishness and individualism, and help make them welcoming to all,” he said.
“May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and pain, situations that affect too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot ignore and do not want to forget.”
Francis also called for peace in the Middle East so that both Israelis and Palestinians can “enjoy free access” to the holy sites in Jerusalem, and prayed for a reconciliation between the people in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.
“May there be peace also for Libya, so that it finds stability after years of tension, and for Yemen, which suffers a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims: may the truce signed in recent days restore hope to its people”, said.
“We ask the risen Lord for the gift of reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, where dangerous social tensions do not cease and a tragic humanitarian crisis causes great suffering to its people”.
At the end of his message, Francisco also addressed the worsening of social conditions in Latin America and its “cases of crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking.”
“May the risen Christ accompany and assist the peoples of Latin America who have seen their social conditions worsen.”
