This Sunday, Pope Francis appealed for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East with forceful formulations. War is in itself “a crime against humanity”.
“Faith is not a theory, but an encounter: it means seeing where the Lord lives and staying with Him.” That's what Pope Francis said this Sunday in his…
He said this after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
“Let us not forget those who suffer from the cruelty of war in so many parts of the world, especially in Ukraine, Palestine and Israel! At the beginning of the new year we exchanged vows of peace, but weapons continued to kill and destroy. We pray that those who have power over these conflicts reflect that war is not the way to resolve them, because it sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructure.”
Participants of the Angelus prayer with flags of Israel and the Vatican
Educate for peace
Up to this point, Francis has followed a prepared speech text. But then he added freely: “War today is in itself a crime against humanity! We must not forget this. War itself is a crime against humanity – people need peace! The world needs peace!”
He had just heard on a church broadcast on Italian television how the vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, the Franciscan Ibrahim Faltas, called for an education for peace. The Pope made this appeal his own. “We must educate for peace, because we can see that we still do not have an education in all of humanity that seeks to end all wars.”
During the Angelus prayer, the head of the Catholic Church also asked for prayers for the victims of the landslide in Colombia. At least 33 people died in the accident, including many children.
(Vatican news – sk)