“Peace be for the battered Ukraine, so severely tested by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. Upon this terrible night of suffering and death, a new dawn of hope soon dawns! Peace be chosen. Stop flexing your muscles while people suffer ”.
This is the cry launched by Pope Francis in front of the 100 thousand faithful who crowded St. Peter's Square on the occasion of the Easter Urbi et Orbi.
“Whoever has the responsibility of nations, listen to the cry for peace of the people. Listen to that disturbing question posed by scientists almost seventy years ago: 'Will we put an end to mankind, or will humanity be able to give up war?' ”, The words of the Holy Father who quoted the Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955.
He speaks of the numerous Ukrainian victims that "I carry in my heart", Bergoglio, of the "millions of refugees and displaced persons", of the "divided families" and of the "elderly left alone", of the "cities razed to the ground" and of the "orphaned children who flee from war ”.
"Looking at them - he says - we cannot fail to hear their cry of pain, together with that of the many other children who suffer all over the world: those who are dying of hunger or lack of care, those who are victims of abuse and violence and those who who have been denied the right to be born ".
The Pope also hopes that "the conflict in Europe will make us more concerned even in the face of other situations of tension, suffering and pain that affect too many regions of the world and that we cannot forget". He mentions Jerusalem, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar. And again, Afghanistan and Ethiopia, afflicted by "very serious humanitarian crises", and the Congo.
“Peace is possible”, urges Pope Francis. “Every war brings with it aftermath that involve all of humanity: from grief to the drama of refugees, to the economic and food crisis of which we can already see the signs. Faced with the continuing signs of war, as well as the many and painful defeats of life, Christ, the victor of sin, fear and death, exhorts us not to surrender to evil and violence ”.
(Unioneonline / L)