ROME – Ukraine hung heavily in the heart of Pope Francis on Sunday when he delivered the annual message “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and the world”) in St. Peter’s Square, calling for peace for what he described last year. such as Easter of War.
Francis, who pleaded a week ago for an Easter truce in Ukraine, spoke to tens of thousands of believers. That was far from the few hundred who attended last year’s celebration, which was limited by the pandemic.
“We saw too much blood, too much violence,” Francis said. “Our hearts were also filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters had to be locked up to protect themselves from bombing. Instead of learning from the heavy damage caused by the pandemic and emerging with increased solidarity, rivalry has prevailed, he said.
He also called on world leaders to keep in mind a worrying question that scientists raised nearly 70 years ago when they raised the specter of nuclear destruction.
“Should we end the human race or give up war on humanity?” Francis asked, quoting the so-called Russell-Einstein Manifesto, published by philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1955 and signed by intellectuals and scholars, including Albert Einstein.
Still, the Easter message was a message of peace, he said. Urbi et Orbi has traditionally portrayed a state of global conflict, and Francis has called for peace in the wars from Yemen to Syria, Libya and Afghanistan.
But the war in Ukraine was looming. It is a country “severely affected by the violence and destruction of the brutal and senseless war in which it was involved,” Francis said as applause filled the square. “In this terrible night of suffering and death, let a new dawn of hope soon appear” and negotiations lead to peace, he added, urging all people to pray for peace “from our balconies and on our streets” and for world leaders to take the floor. attention these requests.
At his heart, Francis said, he holds “the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, divided families, elderly people left alone, shattered lives and razed cities.” He thanked the families and communities that welcomed these shelters, as well as migrants from different places in their homes.
“Every war has consequences that affect the whole human family: from grief and mourning to the drama of refugees and to the economic and food crisis, the signs of which we are already seeing,” Francis said.
“Faced with continuing signs of war, as well as many painful failures in life, Jesus Christ, the victor over sin, fear and death, exhorts us not to give in to evil and violence. Let us be won by the peace of Christ. Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone’s primary responsibility. “
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