Pope Francis in his Easter message which is called the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) called for peace in the saying the conflict there “does not spare the defenceless”, a clear reference to Israel killing of 16 peaceful Palestinian protesters.
The message was delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to tens of thousands of people in the flower-bedecked square below. He also appealed for an end to the “carnage” in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter, and for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Pope also begged for peace for “the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria, whose people are worn down by an apparently endless war.”
“This Easter, may the light of the risen Christ illumine the consciences of all political and military leaders, so that a swift end may be brought to the carnage in course … “ he said.
Pope Francis also called for international assistance for Venezuela, so that more people would not have to abandon their homeland because of the economic and political crisis.
He hoped the “fruits of dialogue” would advance peace and harmony on the Korean peninsula, where the two sides are set to hold their first summit in more than a decade on April 27, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearization.
He prayed the power of Jesus’ message “bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment, where there are migrants and refugees – so often rejected by today’s culture of waste – and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery”
