POPE FRANCIS DENOUNCED ‘RIVERS OF BLOOD AND TEARS’ IN UKRAINE

Sun 06 March 2022:

Appeals to stop war are coming from worldover. On Sunday, Pope Francis denounced ‘rivers of blood and tears’ in Ukraine

“War is madness, please stop,” the pope said.

He rejected Russia’s assertion that Ukraine attack was a special military operation.

In a prayer said for the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis spoke at the Vatican in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, facing thousands of people, with many holding Ukrainian flags or placards with messages of solidarity with the country under attack.

He said of the conflict: ‘True happiness and freedom do not lie in possessing, but in sharing, not taking advantage of others but in loving them, not in the obsession of power, but in the joy of service.

“In Ukraine rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not only a military operation but a war which sows death, destruction and misery,” the pope said in his weekly address to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

‘We must be vigilant because they often present themselves under an apparent form of good. In fact, the devil, who is cunning, always uses deception, and [he even knows] how to disguise himself with sacred, apparently religious motives.’

‘Let us take time for silence and prayer, during which we can stop and look at what is stirring in our hearts…’ he said.

‘Placing ourselves before the Word of God in prayer, so that a positive fight against the evil that enslaves us, a fight for freedom, may take place within us.’

His comments are a rebuke to the official Russian narrative being pushed by the Kremlin, which insists its invasion of Ukraine is a ‘special military operation’ launched to ‘demilitarise’ Ukraine.

Pope repeated his demand that humanitarian corridors must be established in the warzone.

“In that martyred country the need for humanitarian assistance is growing by the hour,” the pope said, speaking from a window overlooking the square. “Let common sense prevail, let us return to the respect of international law.”

There were many more people than normal gathered infront of St. Peter’s Basilica for the pope’s Sunday appearance, with some holding aloft multi-coloured peace flags as well as the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine.

Last week the Pope appealed for an end to the conflict, calling for humanitarian corridors to be opened to allow civilians to flee.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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