Pope Francis joins the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres in calling for a global ceasefire as the world faces the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic. In words following the recitation of the Marian Prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis highlighted an appeal launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres this week calling for an ‘immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world’, amidst the current Covid-19 pandemic.
From the Library of the Apostolic Palace, the Pope said he joined all those who had made this call and he invited everyone “to follow it up by ceasing all forms of hostilities, encouraging the creation of corridors for humanitarian aid, openness to diplomacy, and attention to those who find themselves in situations of vulnerability.”
Unity and Solidarity
“May our joint fight against the pandemic bring everyone to recognize the great need to reinforce brotherly and sisterly bonds as members of one human family”, the Pope said.
“In particular, may it inspire a renewed commitment to overcome rivalries among leaders of nations and those parties involved. Conflicts are not resolved through war.”
Antagonism and differences, Pope Francis underlined, “must be overcome through dialogue and a constructive search for peace.”
Pope during the Angelus: Take away the stones to new life
During the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis calls on Christians to take away the stones from their hearts and let the Word of God restore life where there is death.
During his Angelus, on this fifth Sunday of Lent, livestreamed from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis took inspiration from the day’s Gospel; the resurrection of Lazarus.
The Pope recalled the desperation of Martha and Mary who said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died’.
Pope Francis reflected that Jesus, according to the Gospel, is moved by the tears of the sisters and cries aloud for Lazarus to come out of the tomb, which he does, wrapped in strips of linen.
God gives life and takes life
The Pontiff noted that in the Gospel passage, “we are able to touch with our hand the fact that God is life and gives life yet takes on the drama of death.”
“Jesus could have avoided the death of His friend Lazarus”, explained the Pope, “but He wanted to share in our pain for the death of people dear to us, and above all He wished to demonstrate God’s dominion over death.”
In the Gospel, said Pope Francis, “we see that man’s faith and the omnipotence of God’s love seek each other and finally meet.”
Amid grief, continue to have faith
God’s response to the women’s cry of ‘if you had been here’, is not a speech, Pope Francis underlined; it is Jesus saying, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’… have faith.
“Amid grief, continue to have faith, even when it seems that death has won. Take away the stone from your heart! Let the Word of God restore life where there is death”.
Vatican news
