Pope Francis, calling this an “Easter of war”, on Sunday urged leaders to heed the popular call for peace in Ukraine and implicitly criticized Russia for dragging the country into a “cruel and senseless” conflict. .
Francis devoted much of his speech, traditionally an overview of world conflicts, to Ukraine, comparing the shock of another war in Europe to the shock of the apostles who, according to the gospel, saw Jesus resurrected.
Speaking to some 50,000 people in St Peter’s Square for his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address, Francis, 85, said Ukraine has been “gravely tested by the violence and destruction of cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged.”
“Our eyes are also in disbelief this Easter of war. We’ve seen a lot of blood, a lot of violence. Our hearts are also filled with fear and anguish as many of our brothers and sisters had to lock themselves up to be safe from bombings,” he said.
Moscow describes the action it launched on February 24 as a “special military operation”. Francis has already rejected this terminology, calling it “war” and previously using terms like “aggression” and “invasion” unwarranted.
“Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the strain of muscles while people suffer,” Francis said on Sunday, continuing to thank those who had taken in refugees from Ukraine — most of whom went to Poland.
Earlier this month in Malta, Francis implicitly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, saying a “potentate” was fomenting conflict over nationalist interests.
“May the leaders of nations hear the people’s call for peace”
Francis, who suffers from leg pain, endured the entire long Mass and then drove through the crowd in the square and a nearby street in an open white car.
He later read most of the “Urbi et Orbi” speech from the porch sitting, standing only at the beginning and for the final blessing.
On Saturday night he attended, but did not preside over, an Easter Vigil service, apparently to rest on Sunday, the most important day of the Christian liturgical calendar.
“Please don’t get used to war!” Francis said, looking down at the square bed donated by tens of thousands of flowers donated by the Netherlands. “We are all committed to begging for peace, from our balconies and in our streets! May the leaders of nations hear the people’s call for peace.”
“I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, the families divided, the elderly abandoned, the lives shattered and the cities devastated,” he said.
Francis called for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and between the people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo — which he is expected to visit in July.
Source: CNN Brasil
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