Pope Francis has also used his Easter message, Urbi et Orbi, to make a powerful appeal against the world’s wars and conflicts.
“We have seen too much bloodshed, too much violence,” said the head of the Catholic Church on Sunday in front of around 100,000 believers in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Like the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated at Easter, today “our hearts are filled with fear and terror as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to shut themselves up to protect themselves from the bombs,” Francis said . He spoke of an “Easter of War”.
The war in Ukraine shaped the celebrations in the Vatican, which for the first time since the outbreak of the corona pandemic could be celebrated in front of believers with almost no restrictions.
“Soon a new dawn of hope will rise over this terrible night of suffering and death!” Said the head of the Catholic Church and called on the states to give in. “May one choose peace. Stop flexing your muscles while people suffer.”
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“In my heart I carry all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the families torn apart, the elderly abandoned, the lives shattered and the cities razed to the ground,” Francis said. He also recalled the great suffering in conflicts elsewhere in the world, such as the Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Myanmar and parts of Africa.
“Let us be overwhelmed by the peace of Christ!” Francis concluded. He said: “Peace is possible, peace is a duty, peace is everyone’s primary responsibility!”
