Pope Francis, in his Easter address, has called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there “does not spare the defenceless“.



The pontiff made his appeal in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to tens of thousands of people in the flower-bedecked square below where he earlier celebrated a mass.

He also appealed for an end to the “carnage” in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter the country, and for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Francis appeared to refer directly to last Friday’s Gaza violence, calling for “reconciliation for the Holy Land, also experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenceless”.

Israel’s defence minister has rejected calls for an inquiry into the killings by the military during a Palestinian demonstration that turned violent at the Gaza-Israel border.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and other leaders have called for an independent investigation into the bloodshed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christians attend Easter mass at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

The pope also begged for peace for “the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria, whose people are worn down by an apparently endless war”.

“This Easter, may the light of the risen Christ illumine the consciences of all political and military leaders, so that a swift end may be brought to the carnage in course,” he said.

He spoke a day after the Syrian army command said it had regained most of the towns and villages in eastern Ghouta. Tens of thousands of people have fled once-bustling towns in the suburbs east of the capital, which had nearly 2 million people before the start of the conflict and were major commercial and industrial hubs.

Francis called for international assistance for Venezuela, so that more people would not have to abandon their homeland because of the economic and political crisis.

He hoped the “fruits of dialogue” would advance peace and harmony on the Korean peninsula, where the two sides are set to hold their first summit in more than a decade on 27 April, after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, pledged his commitment to denuclearisation.

Francis, celebrating his sixth Easter as Roman Catholic leader since his election in 2013, urged his listeners to work for an end to the “so many acts of injustice” in the world.

He prayed that the power of Jesus’s message “bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment, where there are migrants and refugees – so often rejected by today’s culture of waste – and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery”. </s> (VATICAN CITY) — On Christianity’s most joyful day, Pope Francis called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict, “beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria” and extending to Israel, where 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border two days before Easter Sunday.

Francis reflected on the power of Christianity’s core belief — that Jesus rose from the dead following crucifixion — in his formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a packed square of some 80,000 faithful below.

The pontiff said the message of the resurrection offers hope in a world “marked by so many acts of injustice and violence,” including parts of Africa affected by “hunger, endemic conflicts and terrorism.”

“It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s culture of waste, and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery,” the pope said.

Francis called for a “swift end” to the seven years of carnage in Syria, demanding that aid be delivered to the war-torn country’s needy and calling for “fitting conditions for the returned and the displaced.”

The pope also urged reconciliation in Israel, a place “experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenseless.” His remarks followed the Friday deaths of Palestinian protesters who charged toward Gaza’s border with Israel, the area’s deadliest violence in four years.

Turning to Asia, Francis expressed hope that talks underway could bring peace to the Korean peninsula, urging “those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment to promote the good of the Korean people.”

The pope also urged more steps to bring harmony to divided Ukraine, called for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo and appealed for the world not to forget victims of conflict, especially children.

“May there be no lack of solidarity with all those forced to leave their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for living,” said Francis, who has often championed the cause of migrants and refugees.

The church’s first pontiff from Latin America cited in particular the problems in Venezuela. He said he hoped the country would “find a just, peaceful and humane way to surmount quickly the political and humanitarian crises that grip it.”

Earlier, tens of thousands of faithful underwent heavy security checks to enter St. Peter’s Square to participate in Easter Sunday Mass celebrated by the pope, followed by his “Urbi et Orbi” message (“to the city and the world.”)

Security precautions included bag checks and metal detector wands for everyone entering the square, while the main avenue leading to the Vatican, as well as smaller adjoining streets, were closed to traffic.

Francis opened Easter festivities with a tweet to his global flock: “Our faith is born on Easter morning: Jesus is alive! The experience is at the heart of the Christian message.”

Elsewhere, hundreds of Christians marked Easter by flocking to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where they believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. </s> ROME (JTA) – Pope Francis and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for renewed direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during a meeting at the Vatican.

Abbas warned against moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, telling reporters: “If this is the decision, to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem, it will not help peace and we hope it doesn’t happen.”

The meeting Saturday at the Vatican took place a day before Sunday’s international peace conference in Paris on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The pope hosted Abbas at a private audience ahead of the official inauguration of a Palestinian embassy to the Holy See.

The Vatican recognized Palestine as a state in 2015.

The Vatican said in a statement that the discussions between the Pope and Abbas were “cordial.”

“Hope was expressed that direct negotiations between the parties may be resumed to bring an end to the violence that causes unacceptable suffering to civilian populations, and to find a just and lasting solution,” the Vatican statement said.

The statement also said: “it is hoped that, with the support of the international community, measures can be taken that favor mutual trust and contribute to creating a climate that permits courageous decisions to be made in favor of peace.” It added, “Emphasis was placed on the importance of safeguarding the sanctity of the Holy Places for believers of all three of the Abrahamic religions.”

In a separate statement, Abbas called Jerusalem “the capital of the State of Palestine,” and said that he and the pope had also reaffirmed their “support for Jerusalem being an open city.” </s> Pope Francis welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a private audience on May 16, 2015 in Vatican VATICAN CITY - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was set to meet Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend's Paris peace summit. Among other things, Abbas was expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Times of Israel. </s> VATICAN CITY, Dec. 25 (UPI) — Pope Francis emphasized the need for world peace — specifically in war-torn Syria — during his Christmas Day address Sunday.

The BBC said the head of the Roman Catholic church delivered his message in front of tens of thousands of people who gathered in St. Peter’s Square. There was an intense security presence after the man suspected to have perpetrated last week’s deadly terror attack in Berlin was shot dead in the Italian city of Milan, the British broadcaster noted.

The Guardian newspaper quoted the pontiff as saying he wants his words regarding the end of violence to be carried “to the ends of the Earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace.”

“Far too much blood has been spilled,” he went on. “Above all, in the city of Aleppo, site of the most awful battles in recent weeks, it is most urgent that assistance and support be guaranteed to the exhausted, civil populace, with respect for humanitarian law. It is time for weapons to be stilled forever, and the international community to actively seek a negotiated solution so that civil co-existence can be restored in the country.”

The pope also urged Israelis and Palestinians to “have the courage and the determination to write a new page of history, where hate and revenge give way to the will to build together a future of mutual understanding and harmony.”

The BBC reported he denounced global terrorism, which he said “had sown fear and death into the hearts of so many countries and cities.” </s> VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Palestinian leader meets Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend's Paris peace summit.

Among other things, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to raise with Francis Palestinian concern about a possible move of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Palestinians strongly oppose the move, saying it would kill any hopes for negotiating peace and rile the region by undercutting Muslim and Christian claims to the holy city.

The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character.

After the papal audience, Abbas will open an embassy of his own: The Palestinian embassy to the Holy See, fruit of recent accords in which the Vatican formally recognized the "Palestinian state." </s> Pope Francis and Moroccan King Mohammed VI launched a joint appeal Saturday, urging the protection of the status quo of Jerusalem as the common patrimony of “the followers of the three monotheistic religions.”

The appeal was released in the midst of the pope’s two-day visit to Morocco and asserts the two leaders’ concern for “the unique and sacred character of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif” as well as “its spiritual significance and its special vocation as a city of peace.”

“We consider it important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity,” the appeal states, “and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.”

In late 2017, Pope Francis issued a similar appeal calling for respect for the “status quo” in Jerusalem following the news that the United States would transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the Holy City.

“My thoughts now turn to Jerusalem,” the pope said. “I cannot remain silent about my deep concern for the situation that has been created in the last days.”

“At the same time, I would like to make a heartfelt appeal for everyone’s commitment to respect the city’s status quo, in conformity with the pertinent United Nations Resolutions,” he said.

“Jerusalem is a unique city, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, who venerate the Holy Sites of their respective religions there, and it has a special vocation to peace,” the pope added.

Last November, the pope met with the president of Israel in the Vatican to discuss Israeli-Palestinian relations as well as the “Jerusalem question.”

According to a Vatican press release, the two leaders discussed the resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians “so as to reach an accord respecting the legitimate aspirations of both peoples” as well as “the Jerusalem question,” in its religious and human dimension for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The Jerusalem question entails “the importance of safeguarding its identity and vocation as City of Peace,” the communiqué stated.

In their joint appeal Saturday, the pope and the Moroccan president called for the protection and promotion of “the specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif.”

“It is our hope, therefore, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed, so that in Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif they may raise their prayers to God, the Creator of all, for a future of peace and fraternity on the earth,” they said. </s> "We are very grateful about the role that the Holy See has played for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land, and for having opened an embassy of Palestine in the Vatican for first time," Abbas said, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA

"We are proud to be the birthplace of Christianity and about having one of the oldest Christian communities in the world."

Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, called the move "a significant achievement for the Palestinian people," WAFA said.

Israel has yet to respond to news of the opening.

Many other countries, including Israel, have embassies in Vatican City. Vatican policy has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land, and Francis has taken steps to raise the profile of a Palestinian state. The Vatican had referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state. Francis broke ground by formally recognizing Palestinian statehood in a legal document in May 2015. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applauds the opening of the Palestinian Embassy in Vatican City. Also in 2015, Francis declared nuns Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Baouardy the first two Palestinian saints of modern times. In June 2014, Francis hosted Abbas and late Israeli President Shimon Peres for an unprecedented prayer ceremony at the Vatican. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution In September 2015 allowing the "State of Palestine" and the Vatican to raise their flags outside of UN headquarters and UN offices. At the Vatican on Saturday, Abbas said he planned to attend a conference the following day in Paris to explore ways to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. US Secretary of State John Kerry is among officials from more than 70 nations who plan to attend the conference. Israel has said it will not participate. </s> VATICAN CITY (CBSNEWS/AP) – On Christianity’s most joyful day, Pope Francis in his Easter Sunday message called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict, “beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria,” and extending to the entire Middle East, the Korean peninsula and parts of Africa affected by “hunger, endemic conflicts and terrorism.”

Francis reflected on the power of Christianity’s core belief — that Jesus rose from the dead following crucifixion — in his formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a packed square below.

The pontiff said the message of the resurrection offers hope in a world “marked by so many acts of injustice and violence.”

“It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s culture of waste, and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery,” the pope said.

He called for a “swift end” to carnage in Syria, demanding that aid be delivered to the needy there and calling for “fitting conditions for the returned and the displaced.” Francis has been outspoken in his condemnation of the civil war in Syria, and was credited with leading the opposition to military intervention by the West in 2013, according to BBC Vatican correspondent David Willey.

The pope also urged reconciliation in Israel and hoped that mutual respect would “prevail over divisions” in Yemen and the entire Middle East.

Turning to Asia, Francis hoped that talks underway could bring peace to the Korean peninsula, urging “those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment to promote the good of the Korean people.”

For Ukraine, the pope urged more steps to bring harmony to that divided nation. He also called for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging the world not to forget victims of conflict, especially children.

“May there be no lack of solidarity with all those forced to leave their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for living,” said the pope who has often championed the cause of migrants and refugees.

The church’s first pontiff from Latin America cited in particular the problems in Venezuela, voicing hope the country would “find a just, peaceful and humane way to surmount quickly the political and humanitarian crises that grip it.”

Earlier, tens of thousands of faithful underwent heavy security checks to enter St. Peter’s Square to participate in Easter Sunday Mass celebrated by the pope, followed by his “Urbi et Orbi” message (“to the city and the world”).

Security precautions included bag checks and metal detector wands for everyone entering the square, while the main avenue leading to the Vatican, as well as smaller adjoining streets, were closed to traffic.

Francis opened Easter festivities with a Tweet to his global flock: “Our faith is born on Easter morning: Jesus is alive! The experience is at the heart of the Christian message.”

Elsewhere, hundreds of Christians marked Easter by flocking to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where they believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

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Pope Francis uses his Easter address to call for peace between the peoples of Israel and Palestine in response to the clashes.