The faithful gather to listen to Pope Francis addressing from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer at the Vatican on June 23. (Photo: AFP)
Pope Francis has urged the leaders of conflict-stricken Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to avoid words or actions that fuel confrontation and has urged them to engage in negotiations.
In his address after the Sunday Angelus on June 23, the pope urged everyone to “continue to pray for peace,” in the conflict-stricken nations, Vatican News reported.
Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit would “inspire wisdom and a sense of responsibility,” among the rulers of warring nations, “to avoid any action or words that may fuel confrontation, and instead strive resolutely for a peaceful resolution of conflicts.”
He particularly mentioned “tormented Ukraine,” which “suffers greatly.”
The Russia-Ukraine conflict that began in 2014 escalated into a full-blown war with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and reached the 850-day mark on June 24.
Mediazona, which tracks Russian casualties in the war with the BBC based on deaths recorded by open sources, said in its latest update that 50,471 members of the Russian military had died in the war since it began in February 2022, Radio Free Europe reported.
Noticing Israeli pilgrims waving their national flag in Saint Peter's Square, Francis recalled having seen another one hanging earlier on Sunday morning from a balcony as he was returning from the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs and St Paschal Baylon, in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood.
“It is a call for peace! Let us pray for peace!” Francis said while naming Palestine, Gaza, and the North of DRC Congo.
The Israel-Gaza conflict escalated into a full-scale war on Oct. 7, last year, when Hamas militants raided Israel, and killed some 1,194 people, mostly civilians.
The militants took 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.
Israel's military offensive in Gaza has since killed at least 37,598 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, AFP reported.
Francis also paid homage to Father Manuel Blanco, 85, a Franciscan from the Order of Friars Minor who was his confessor and who died on June 20 in Rome.
Blanco was “a superior, a confessor, a man of counsel,” during his 44 years of service at the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs and St Paschal Baylon, Francis said.
“In remembering him, I would like to remember so many Franciscan brothers, confessors, [and] preachers, who honored and honor the Church of Rome. Thanks to all of them!” Francis added.
Francis also greeted the faithful of Sant Boi de Llobregat in Barcelona, and Bari in Italy, participants in the “Choose life” demonstration, and the “Edelweiss” Choir of the Alpine Section of Bassano del Grappa, among others.
He also mentioned the cyclists from Bollate, Italy, who had traveled nearly 373 miles (600 kilometers) on their bicycles to reach Rome.
