Pope Francis urged to do everything possible to end the war in Ukraine and called the war "barbaric and sacrilegious" and a phenomenon that has no place in the future if humanity does not want to self-destruct. VaticanNews reported this, quoting the pontiff's March 27 speech.
Pope Francis recalled that for more than a month Ukraine has been in full-scale war in its worst manifestations.
"The war is destroying not only the present but also the future of society. I read that since the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, every second child in the country has become a refugee. This means destroying the future, inflicting painful trauma on the least and most innocent among us. This is the atrocity of war, which is a barbaric and sacrilegious act," Francis said.
He stressed that one must not get used to war and that the current outrage that such a tragedy has been made possible must be turned into a commitment not to allow war.
"If we come out of this story as we were before, we will all, in a certain way, be guilty. In the face of the danger of self-destruction, humanity must realize that it is time to abolish war, to erase it from human history before it blots man out of history," Pope Francis said.
"I pray for every political leader to reflect on this, to commit to it! And that, looking at the long-suffering Ukraine, he realizes how much each day of war worsens the situation for everyone. So again the appeal is made: enough is enough, we must stop, let the guns be silenced, let there be serious negotiations for peace!" he stressed.
