Pope Francis has denounced that the pandemic has exacerbated “the trend to shut down” also in the international arena, full of “immense tragedies” that are “overlooked” and has prescribed dialogue and not “shortcuts”.
“It resonates around us and in the whole world, we still see many conflicts, crises and contradictions. They seem to never end and almost go unnoticed. We have become so accustomed that immense tragedies are already overlooked “, lamented the Pontiff during the blessing ‘Urbi et Orbi’, leaning on the balcony of the central Vatican Lodge before dozens of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square with masks, but without respecting the safety distances.
Pope Francis has taken advantage of traditional blessing ‘Urbi et Orbi’, which in Latin means ‘to the city (Rome) and to the world’ and which is given twice a year: Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, to ask that vaccines reach “the poorest populations.”
Accompanied by the President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Italian Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, he recalled the violence that is being experienced in the world and has affected “the risk of not hearing the cries of pain and despair” of a lot of people.
Francisco has made a review of the towns that are being hit by some type of violent conflict such as Iraq, which has caused “many victims and an incalculable number of refugees”, or Yemen, which has suffered a “huge tragedy” forgotten by all and which “has been perpetrated in silence for years.”
The Pontiff has also denounced “the continuing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians”, which continue without solution. “Let’s not forget Bethlehem, the place where Jesus saw the light, which lives difficult times, also because of the difficulties it shared our dramas and broke the wall of our indifference,” he said.
In addition, Francis has urged the international community to commit to humanitarian assistance with the populations that “are forced to flee their homeland” like the Afghans, who for more than forty years have been “harshly tested by conflicts that force many to leave the country.”
In this way, he has urged the political authorities to “pacify societies devastated by tensions and conflicts”, also in Myanmar, where intolerance and violence “frequently hit the Christian community and places of worship, and overshadow the peaceful face of its people.”
The Pontiff has urged “dialogue” also in Ukraine so that there is no “spread the metastases of a gangrenous conflict”. And it has also requested that Ethiopia find the “path of reconciliation and peace through a sincere debate, which puts the demands of the population first.”
“Hear the cry of the peoples of the Sahel region, who suffer the violence of the international terrorism“, has added.
Along the same lines, he has demanded peace for “the peoples of the North African countries who suffer because of the divisions, unemployment and inequality economic “and of Sudan and South Sudan.
Finally, it has called on the prisoners of war, civilian and military, of the recent conflicts, and those who are imprisoned for political reasons can “go home soon.”
And, once again, he urged not to be “indifferent” to the drama of migrants, displaced people and the refugees. “Their eyes ask us not to look elsewhere, not to deny the humanity that unites us, to make their stories our own and not forget their dramas,” he urged.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
