In his Easter message, Pope Francis also focused on Africa
Pope Francis delivers the Easter 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking St. Peter's Square on April 17, 2022 in the Vatican.
AFP - TIZIANA FABI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
On this Easter Sunday - the greatest Christian holiday - in the Vatican, the Pope launched an appeal for peace during the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, to the city of Rome and to the world.
In addition to Ukraine, it is also the situations that concern him on the African continent that the head of the Catholic Church wanted to mention in his Easter message.
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With our correspondent in Rome,
Blandine Hugonnet
Faced with a crowd of 100,000 faithful massed in Saint Peter's Square, the sovereign pontiff stopped for a few minutes on Africa, in particular on East Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo where the Pope is expected, in next July.
“
May Ethiopia, struck by a serious humanitarian crisis, find the path of dialogue and reconciliation, and may the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo cease.
»
From the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica, the Pope also had a thought for South Africa, calling for prayer and solidarity for these populations "
affected by devastating floods
" in recent days.
Read also: Pope Francis again expected on the African continent
Finally, it is for the whole continent that Francis calls for peace: "
May there be peace for the whole African continent, so that the exploitation of which it is the victim and the haemorrhage caused by the terrorist attacks, in particularly in the Sahel zone, that it finds concrete support in the brotherhood of peoples.
»
The head of the Catholic Church also had a word for Libya, hoping that it will regain stability after years of tension.
While in his Easter message the pope spoke a great deal about the war in Ukraine, he called for these open doors in Europe for Ukrainian refugees in recent weeks - an act of charity which he hailed - to also show the way of welcoming all migrants, in European societies still marked by selfishness and individualism.
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Pope Francis
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