“Never again war!” Pope Leo XIV said from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in his first Sunday address yesterday before a packed crowd in the square and streets of Vatican City. Source: NCR Online.
Leo’s appeal for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza included the phrase pontiffs have uttered since Pope Paul VI, who led the Church from 1963 to 1978.
“In today’s dramatic scenario of a third world war being fought piecemeal, as Pope Francis has repeatedly stated, I too turn to the world’s leaders, repeating the ever-timely appeal: never again war,” he said.
The noontime Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven) address, the prayer dedicated to the Virgin Mary, lasted just over 10 minutes and was the first of his four-day-old papacy. Leo delivered it from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, where he first appeared on May 8 after his election as the first pope from the United States.
As the pontiff sang the Marian prayer, tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square joined him.
In his address, Leo pleaded for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip and for the release of Israeli hostages. He also praised the recent ceasefire reached by India and Pakistan following military action last week.
Leo XIV began his comments discussing the Catholic Church’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which is being celebrated today.
“It is important that young men and women on their vocational journey find acceptance, listening and encouragement in their communities, and that they can look up to credible models of generous dedication to God and to their brothers and sisters,” he said.
“Let us take up the invitation that Pope Francis left us in his Message for today: the invitation to welcome and accompany young people,” he said.
Then, speaking off the cuff, Leo spoke to young people in Italian, saying: “Be not afraid! Welcome the call of the Church and of Christ the Lord.”
The moment was reminiscent of Pope John Paul II’s 1978 installation Mass as the new pope when he uttered the same words.
FULL STORY
Pope Leo XIV pleads for end to Ukraine, Gaza conflicts: ‘Never again war!’ (By Christopher White, Camillo Barone and Rhina Guidos, NCR Online)
