Tens of thousands stood in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on April 17 awaiting the first traditional Easter address since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The sun-drenched worshipers hung onto the words of the 85 year-old Pope Francis as he delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
In his address, the Pope acknowledged that our brothers and sisters around the world, “have seen all too much blood, all too much violence.” He recognized that in these turbulent times, Catholics might struggle in their faith in Christ’s triumph over death, asking themselves if Christ’s apparition was merely imagined, but it was imperative to Pope Francis that we remind ourselves that, “it is not an illusion!”
Humanity, the pope continued, could not claim to behold Christ’s spirit as “we have within us the spirit of Cain, who saw Abel not as a brother, but as a rival, and thought about how to eliminate him.” On Easter, we must continue to have faith in “the crucified and risen Lord so that we can believe in the victory of love, and hope for reconciliation.”
On what he calls an “Easter of war,” Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine which has been experiencing ongoing fighting. The Pope stated that Ukraine has been “tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged.”
Pope Francis has made his opinion on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict apparent. For one, he has rejected that the war is merely a “special military operation.” On March 6, during his weekly address to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, he said that “in Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not just a military operation but a war which sows death, destruction and misery.”
Additionally, on February 26, the Pope visited the Russian embassy to the Vatican to personally express his concerns on the war. Pope Francis’s unprecedented move in papal diplomacy displays his concern for peace. During his visit, which lasted 40 minutes, he also displayed his worries about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
On Easter Sunday, the pope continued to decry the consequences of the war. In his Easter address, he stated, “every war brings in its wake consequences that affect the entire human family: from grief and mourning to the drama of refugees, and to the economic and food crisis, the signs of which we are already seeing.”
Pope Francis also prayed for other nations in which violence and suffering are prevalent, and he urged us not to forget the nations of Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Libya.
The Pope concluded his address by reminding the world that “Jesus Christ, the victor over sin, fear and death, exhorts us not to surrender to evil and violence.” He urged people to choose peace and live with the spirit of Jesus, exclaiming “peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone’s primary responsibility!”
