"I have in my eyes the gaze of orphaned children": Pope Francis' "cry of peace" for Ukraine

Pope Francis on Sunday called on leaders to "hear the people's cry for peace" in this "Easter of war", again evoking "martyred" Ukraine.

"We have seen too much blood, too much violence (...) Let's stop showing the muscles while people are suffering", launched the sovereign pontiff during his traditional blessing "Urbi et Orbi", in front of some 50,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square in Rome.

"Please, let's not get used to war, let's all commit to ask for peace (..) May those who have the responsibility of the Nations hear the people's cry for peace", he urged , prompting applause from the crowd.

"Encouraging signs"

The spiritual leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics insisted at length on the need for peace for “martyred Ukraine, so severely tested by the violence and the destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged” with the Russian invasion which began on February 24.

The sovereign pontiff said he was thinking of the “many Ukrainian victims”, citing “the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, families divided, elderly people left alone, lives shattered and cities razed to the ground.

“I have in my eyes the look of children who have become orphans,” he added.

However, he welcomed the "encouraging signs" such as "the open doors of many families and communities that welcome migrants and refugees throughout Europe", seeing in them "a blessing for our societies, sometimes degraded by so much selfishness and individualism”.

After devoting a large part of his message to this conflict, the pope gave his traditional overview of the conflicts in the world, evoking in turn Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Burma or even the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he is due to go in early July.

Before this blessing, the 85-year-old pope, who appeared diminished by his knee pain in recent days, enjoyed a long walkabout with pilgrims from all over the world aboard his "Popemobile" in the aisles of the Place Saint -Rock.

cmk/at