In Thursday’s service with thousands in St Peter’s Basilica, Leo also lamented conditions for the homeless across the globe and the destruction caused by war more generally.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the Pope.
“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths,” he said.
In an appeal during the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the Pope at Christmas and Easter, Leo called for an end to all global wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he lamented conflicts, political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, and Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
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Leo said people in Ukraine, where Russian troops are threatening cities critical to the country’s eastern defences, have been “tormented” by violence.
“May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” said the Pope.
For Thailand and Cambodia, where border fighting is in its third week with at least 80 killed, Leo asked that the nations’ “ancient friendship” be restored, “to work towards reconciliation and peace”.
Reuters
