Vatican City, March 26 (Prensa Latina) Pope Francis today pleaded for peace and reconciliation in Peru before thousands of the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square during the customary Sunday prayer of the Angelus.
The Bishop of Rome addressed the Peruvian people, a country that he said is “suffering so much” due to the complex situation it is in, where 49 people have already been killed in protests following the December 7 deportation became President Pedro Castillo.
Francis also referred to the victims of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, with a total of more than 40,000 dead, where there was a new earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale last Monday, as well as the tornado which devastated the US state of Mississippi on March 25 with 26 dead.
He also alluded to the conflict in Ukraine and its serious consequences, stressing that only “the conversion of hearts” can open “the way to peace”.
In his prayer, the Pope recalled that sometimes one can “feel hopeless” or “find oneself with people who have lost hope” because of a loss, illness, disappointment, injury, serious mistake or betrayal “and invited” not to stop believing and hoping” and not letting ourselves be “overwhelmed by negative feelings”.
“Don’t give in to depressing pessimism, isolating fear, discouragement from remembering bad experiences, crippling fear, don’t let pain lock you in, don’t let hope die,” said the Supreme Pope.