2024-01-14 11:34:07
This Sunday, Pope Francis called for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East with sharp 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.” This is what Pope Francis said this Sunday at his…
He said this after his Angelus prayer with around 10,000 people 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 good wishes for peace, but the weapons continued to kill and destroy. We pray that those who have power over these conflicts will reflect that war is not the way to resolve them because it sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructure.”
Participants in the Angelus prayer with flags of Israel and the Vatican
Educate for peace
Up to this point, Francis followed a prepared speech text. But then he added freely: “War today is in itself a crime against humanity! We shouldn’t forget that. War itself is a crime against humanity – peoples need peace! The world needs peace!”
He had just heard in 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 do not yet have such an education in all of humanity that seeks to end every war.”
During the Angelus prayer, the head of the Catholic Church also called for prayers for the victims of the landslide in Colombia. At least 33 people died in the accident, including many children.
(vatican news – sk)
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#War #crime #humanity