Pope Francis has criticized the war in Ukraine as a “cruel and senseless” conflict. In his Easter “Urbi et Orbi” address he also called for reconciliation among Israelis and Palestinians, and in other conflict zones.
Pope Francis lamented what he called an “Easter of war” in his annual address on Sunday, and implicitly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While Francis has yet to publicly condemn the Russian leader by name, his denunciations of the war in Ukraine have grown stronger.
What did the pope say?
In his annual “Urbi et Orbi” address, the pontiff made an anguished appeal for peace and called and talked about the “troubling” risk of nuclear warfare.
“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” Francis said from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Square.
The pope had earlier celebrated mass in the square, which was packed with worshipers for the Easter ceremony for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
In a reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, the pope cited a declaration made by scientists in 1955.
“Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?” he said, quoting the Russell Einstein Manifesto.
