An indifference has spread to the killing of thousands of people, Pope Leo said in his Easter address.
Pope Leo has dedicated Easter Sunday to encourage world leaders to choose peace.
Sunday noon local time, the head of the Catholic Church spoke from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to hundreds of people in attendance, writes Reuters.
– Let those who have weapons put them down!
– Let those who have the power to start wars choose peace, said the Pope.
The speech entitled “urbi et orbi” – in Danish: to the city and to the world – followed the traditional Easter mass in St. Peter’s Church.
It was Pope Leo’s debut as leader of the Easter Mass, which marks the biggest holiday in the Christian Church, and it was his first “urbi et orbi” speech.
Pope Leo was thus installed in office in May last year.
Despite the clear message, the Pope did not mention any names or specific conflicts or wars in the speech, which was unusually short and direct.
According to Pope Leo, the world has become so accustomed to war that an indifference to violence and killing has arisen among people.
– We get used to violence, accept it and become indifferent. Indifferent to the death of thousands of people, the Pope said.
He pointed out that the story of the Passover, where, according to the Bible, Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning, two days after he was crucified without resistance, shows that Jesus was “completely non-violent”.
– On this day of celebration, let us give up every desire for conflict, domination and power and plead with the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by war, said the head of the Catholic Church.
It is not the first time that the Pope has criticized the ongoing conflicts and called for peace. He has done this several times in recent weeks – including during his sermon from St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday.
– Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them and says: Even if you send many prayers, I will not listen: Your hands are full of blood, admonished Pope Leo a week ago.
In addition to giving a speech, Pope Leo sent Easter greetings in ten languages - including Latin, Arabic and Chinese – from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday afternoon.
