From Reuters:
“On 'Easter of war', pope
implicitly criticises Russia over Ukraine”
(Pope leads Easter Sunday mass,
delivers traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message)
Pope Francis implicitly
criticised Russia for dragging Ukraine into a "cruel and senseless"
conflict and urged leaders to strive for peace as he marked what he called an
"Easter of war" on Sunday. The 85-year-old pope made the comments in
his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) address -
traditionally an overview of world conflicts - to about 100,000 people in St.
Peter's Square. It was the first Easter since 2019 that the public was allowed
into the square to hear the twice-yearly address following two years of
COVID-19 restrictions.
Francis dedicated much of the
message to Ukraine, comparing the shock of another war in Europe to the shock
of the apostles when the gospel says they saw the risen Jesus. "Our eyes,
too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood,
all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish,
as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in
order to be safe from bombing," he said. "May there be peace for
war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel
and senseless war into which it was dragged," he said. Moscow describes
the action it launched on Feb. 24 as a "special military operation".
Francis, who did not mention
Russia by name, has already rejected that terminology, calling it a war and
previously using terms such as unjustified aggression and invasion. "Let
there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles
while people are suffering," Francis said on Sunday, going on to thank
those who had taken in refugees from Ukraine, most of whom have gone to Poland.
Earlier this month in Malta, Francis implicitly criticised Russian President
Vladimir Putin over the invasion, saying a "potentate" was fomenting
conflict for nationalist interests. read more
NUCLEAR SPECTRE Francis
again raised the spectre of the war leading to a nuclear conflict, something he
has spoken of several times since the Russian invasion began. This time,
he quoted the 1955 manifesto by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist
Albert Einstein: "Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind
renounce war?" Francis, who suffers from leg pain, appeared
comfortable during the long Mass that preceded the "Urbi et Orbi"
address, and then toured the crowd in the square and a nearby street while
sitting in an open white pope mobile. Afterwards, he read most of the
address from the balcony sitting down, standing only at the start and for the
final blessing.
On Saturday night, he attended
but did not preside at an Easter vigil service, apparently to rest up for
Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar. read more "Please,
let us not get used to war," Francis said, looking down on the square
bedecked by tens of thousands of flowers donated by the Netherlands. "Let
us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our
streets. May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." "I
hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and
internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to
themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground," he said.
He also called for reconciliation among Israelis and Palestinians and among the
people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of
Congo, which he is due to visit in July.
^ This was a good Easter Message
to Catholics and to the whole world. Religious Leaders should use their Faith
to ease People’s suffering – including from wars - not promote the suffering and death of the
innocent. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.