Ukraine: Pope condemns “senseless war” and calls for “silencing the guns”


Antonino Galofaro, with AFP
modified to

6:04 p.m., December 25, 2022

Pope Francis called on Sunday to “silence the guns” in Ukraine, in the grip of a “senseless war”, during his traditional Christmas message to the Vatican during which he again mentioned the “Third World War”. “May our gaze be filled with the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who live this Christmas in the dark, in the cold or far from home, because of the destruction caused by ten months of war”, declared the Argentine pope before thousands of worshipers gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, some of whom waved Ukrainian flags.

“The winds of war continue to blow cold on humanity”

“May the Lord make us ready for concrete gestures of solidarity to help those who are suffering, and may he enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the guns and put an immediate end to this senseless war!”, said the pontiff, who has tirelessly pleaded for peace since Moscow invaded the country in February.

“Unfortunately, we prefer to listen to other arguments dictated by the logic of the world”, regretted the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, noting “with sadness that the winds of war continue to blow cold on humanity”.

Before pronouncing the blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”), the pope gave as usual an overview of the conflicts in the world, citing ten countries affected by the violence or the tensions, which he described as “theaters of this Third World War”.

The Pope for the first time mentioned Iran

Among them, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, but also Lebanon in the grip of an unprecedented economic and social crisis and Haiti, where more than 1,400 people were killed in the violence this year according to the UN.

For the first time, the pope cited Iran, affected by a wave of protest unprecedented since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Born of demands for women’s rights, the demonstrations have caused the arrest of around 14,000 people since mid-September, according to the UN, and 469 demonstrators were killed, estimates the organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Oslo.

He also urged not to use food “as a weapon”, in particular in reference to the conflicts affecting the Horn of Africa. “Any war causes hunger and uses food itself as a weapon, preventing its distribution to people who are already suffering”, lamented the Argentinian Jesuit, inviting people to commit themselves “so that food is only a instrument of peace.”

7,000 people present at midnight mass

On Saturday evening, some 7,000 people attended the Christmas night mass presided over by the pope in St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the Vatican. The 86-year-old pope, who still uses a wheelchair due to knee pain, prayed for “children devoured by wars, poverty and injustice”, lamenting that “men greedy for power and money consume their relatives, their brothers”. Faced with “consumerism”, the pontiff invited us to “leave the heat of worldliness” and “rediscover the meaning of Christmas”, pleading for a charitable Church at the service of the poor.

“It’s very inspiring to be here with all these people, we are happy and moved to see the pope, even if we are outside, and to feel this connection between us,” Victoria Machado, 19, told AFP. years old, came from Mexico with her family. Like her, some 4,000 people who could not get tickets followed the celebration on giant screens installed outside.



Source link -75