- Pope Francis delivers the message “Urbi et Orbi” twice a year
- The first Easter with an audience in the square since the beginning of the pandemic
- Much of the pope’s address was about the war in Ukraine
VATICAN CITY, April 17 (Reuters) – Pope Francis has tacitly criticized Russia for dragging Ukraine into a “brutal and senseless” conflict and called on leaders to seek peace while marking what he called Sunday’s “Easter of War.”
The 85-year-old pope commented in his address “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) – a traditional overview of world conflicts – in front of about 100,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.
It was the first Easter since 2019, when the public was allowed into the square to hear the address twice a year after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
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Francis dedicated much of Ukraine’s message, 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 are also skeptical of this Easter of war. We saw too much blood, too much violence. “Our hearts were also filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have tried to lock themselves in to protect themselves from bombing,” he said.
“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so severely tested by the violence and destruction of the brutal and senseless war in which it was involved,” he said.
Moscow describes the action, which began on February 24 as a “special military operation”.
Francis, who did not mention Russia by name, has already rejected the terminology, calling it war and having previously used terms such as unwarranted aggression and invasion.
“Let there be a solution to peace. Let there be an end to flexing muscles while people are suffering, “Francis said on Sunday, thanking those who took in refugees from Ukraine, most of whom went to Poland.
Earlier this month in Malta, Francis implicitly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, saying the “potentate” was fueling a conflict of nationalist interests. Read more
Pope Francis leads the Easter Liturgy in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, April 17, 2022. REUTERS / Yara Nardi
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EAT SPECTRUM
Francis has resurrected the specter of a nuclear war, something he has spoken about several times since the Russian invasion.
This time he quotes the 1955 manifesto of philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein: “Should we end the human race or give up humanity?”
Francis, suffering from leg pain, looked comfortable during the long liturgy before the Urbi et Orbi address, and then walked around the crowd in the square and the nearby street, sitting in an open white pope’s cell phone.
He then read most of the address from the balcony sitting, standing only at the beginning and for the last blessing.
He is present on Saturday night, but does not lead an Easter Vigil service, apparently to rest for Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar. Read more
“Please let’s not get used to the war,” Francis said, looking down at the square decorated with tens of thousands of flowers donated by the Netherlands.
“Let us all commit ourselves to praying for peace from our balconies and on our streets. Let the leaders of the nations hear the people’s plea for peace.
“I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, divided families, elderly people left alone, broken lives and cities razed to the ground,” he said.
He also called for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and between the people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whom he is due to visit in July.
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Report by Philip Pulella Edited by Raisa Kasolowski and Helen Popper
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