Pope Francis appealed before 100,000 people on Saturday to avert a widening of Syria’s conflict, urging world leaders to pull humanity out of a “spiral of sorrow and death.”
The pontiff led the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in a global day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, the Middle East and the world.
“Violence and war lead only to death, they speak of death! Violence and war are the language of death!” Pope Francis said.
The United States and France are considering military action against Damascus to punish President Bashar Assad for an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria’s civil war that killed hundreds of people. Assad’s government denies responsibility.
A number of people held up Syrian flags and placards reading “Hands off Syria,” and “Obama, you don’t have a dream, you have a nightmare.” But they were not allowed into St Peter’s Square, in keeping with the pope’s intention for a religious service.
The service was punctuated by music, prayer, the reciting of the rosary and long periods of silence in which the participants were asked to meditate on the need for peace to vanquish the destruction of war.
“We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. As if it were normal, we continue to sow destruction, pain, death!” said Pope Francis, who wore his simple white cassock instead of ceremonial robes to the service.
“At this point I ask myself: Is it possible to change direction? Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace?”
He then asked “each one of us, from the least to the greatest, including those called to govern nations, to respond: Yes, we want it!”
Sources
Image: Reuters/NBC News