Last Sunday, Pope Francis held an address on the St. Peter’s Square, where he called for an end to the Ukrainian war. The last time the Pope addressed a political situation through a speech was in 2013, when he called for the fighting in Syria to end. He called upon both president Putin and president Zelensky.
After Putin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Pope expressed his deep sadness about the situation, PRO and CNE News report. “I am deeply saddened by the streams of blood and tears that have been shed these months,” he says.
“In the name of God and in the name of the sense of humanity that dwells in every heart, I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire,” Pope Francis said in his speech.
The Pope turned directly to Russian president Putin and Ukrainian president Zelensky. To Putin he said: “My call is in the first place to the president of the Russian Federation, whom I ask to end this spiral of violence and death, also for the welfare of his people.” His call to president Zelensky was to “be open to serious peace proposals.”
Watch his speech here, recorded by USA Today:
