By Annie Dabb • Published: 02 Oct 2022 • 16:06
Image - Pope Francis: PIXEL2020/shutterstock
Instead of the usual interpretation of the gospel, Pope Francisco chose to dedicate his Sunday speech today, in the square of Saint Pedro, to the war in Ukraine. The leader of the Catholic Church made an urgent call for the end of the ongoing conflict.
A similar change to the usual processes was last seen in 2013 when Francisco called for the end of the ongoing conflict in Syria. To further cement his request he also attended the World Congress of Religions in Kazikstan in mid September to discuss further potential peace talks.
In his speech, the Pope said “I am calling directly to the president of the Russian federation, to whom I ask to stop this spiral of violence and death”. He continued “I am also making a call to the president of Ukraine to enter into serious peace talks” after addressing the “immeasurable suffering of the Ukrainian people”.
In his extraordinary call, the head of the Catholic Church said “I am profoundly saddened by the torrents of blood and tears that we have seen in recent months. I am saddened by the thousands of victims, especially children, and the monumental destruction that many people have suffered, and the families that have become homeless and threatened by cold and hunger. Such actions can never be justified. Never!”
On Friday, Putin exacerbated the conflict even further by annexing four Ukrainian regions. The Pope said: “I profoundly lament the grave situation that has occurred in the last few days”. Francisco asked “What else must happen? How much blood must be spilt before we realise that war is never the solution, and causes only destruction?
Pope Francis continued: “It’s unfortunate that the world is learning about the geography of Ukraine through names like Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izyum, Zaporizhia and other places that have become places of suffering and indescribable fear. He was surprised that the world has again come to fear a nuclear war. “It’s absurd” he said. “The war is a mistake and a horror!”
He made a call to all of the politicians of the world to campaign for the end of the war. “Please, so that younger generations can breathe healthy air of peace, not air contaminated by the war, this is madness”.
The Pope ended by again requesting an “immediate cease fire”. He suggested that “all diplomatic measures” should be employed “in order to put an end to this terrible tragedy”.
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From Newcastle originally, Annie is based in Manchester and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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