Pope Francis, in an Easter address delivered to tens of thousands of worshipers in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, called for “peace for war-torn Ukraine,” and for caution over conflict that could lead to nuclear war.
“We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence,” he said. “Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away to be safe from bombing.”
“Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,” he said, in a plea for people to take up the cause. “May the leaders of nations hear people’s plea for peace.”
He cited a line from a 1955 manifesto by physicist Albert Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell, in which scientists and thinkers warn of the risks posed by nuclear weapons, writing, “Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?”
The Easter message capped a weekend of religious events for Catholics. Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and elsewhere celebrate Easter on April 24.
Three Ukrainian lawmakers and the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, who was reportedly abducted by Russian forces and released in a prisoner swap, attended the pope’s Easter vigil service on Saturday, where he addressed them directly. “In this darkness that you are living, Mr. Mayor, parliamentarians, the thick darkness of war, of cruelty, we are all praying, praying with you and for you this night,” he said.
The pope’s Good Friday sermon at the Colosseum in Rome called for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, attracting criticism from Ukrainian faith leaders who disliked that Ukrainians and Russians carried a cross together during the service.
While the pope has often talked raised support for Ukraine since the start of the war, he has so far avoided naming Russia as the aggressor, or calling what is happening in Ukraine an invasion. His Easter Sunday address was no exception. He said Ukraine was “dragged” into a “cruel and senseless war,” but did not say by whom. He mentioned Ukraine and Ukrainians by name, but not Russia.
The message highlighted the consequences of war for Ukraine and its people, especially “the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed.”
“I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war,” Francis said. “As we look at them, we cannot help but hear their cry of pain, along with that of all those other children who suffer throughout our world: those dying of hunger or lack of medical care, those who are victims of abuse and violence, and those denied the right to be born.”
He praised European nations for opening their doors to Ukrainian refugees, but said the same welcome should be extended to other vulnerable people fleeing conflicts elsewhere. He raised his hopes for a peaceful resolution to other conflicts around the world.
The pope ended his address with a call for peace: “Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone’s primary responsibility!”
Stefano Pitrelli, Lateshia Beachum and Tobi Raji contributed to this report.