From Rome to Manila, the Catholic Church’s Eastern message is a resounding end to war in the Middle East.
In his first-ever Urbi et Orbi (From the City to the World) message as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Church, Pope Leo XIV did not minch words and called for an end to the war.
“Let those who have weapons lay them down…Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” he said.
The first Pope from the United States in his first Easter renewed pleas for peace and dialogue, condemned violence.
“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent,” he said.
Easter is Christendom’s holiest occasion, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The war in the Middle East, however, overshadowed this year’s commemoration.
From Vatican to the center of Roman Catholicism in Asia, Manila Metropolitan Archbishop Jose Cardinal echoed Leo’s message and asked Filipinos to pray for peace in the Middle East.
Advincula urged the faithful to pray for the end of war in West Asia, noting the crisis is deeply affecting Filipinos, particularly the 2.4 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the war-torn region.
He said that Jesus’ hardships are mirrored by those affected by the war. “A clear example of this is what’s happening to the Middle East. While it is very far from us, we can really feel its effects,” Advincula said.
He added that the families of the OFWs worry about their kin in the Middle East while public transportation drivers in the Philippines are losing their livelihood because of skyrocketing fuel prices.
“Many families are suffering every day, that’s why the war that is far from us scars our nation,” the Cardinal said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
