Vatican City, Italy
AP
Pope Francis ushered in the annual Christian Lenten period of sacrifice and reflection by encouraging people on Ash Wednesday to cast off what he called the “dictatorship” of heavy agendas and superficial needs.
Pope Francis attends the Ash Wednesday mass at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Italy, on 22nd February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane
POPE URGES CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE AHEAD OF INVASION ANNIVERSARY
Pope Francis, speaking two days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Wednesday called for a ceasefire and peace negotiations, saying no victory could be “built on ruins”.
Francis, who has appealed for an end to violence in Ukraine at nearly every public appearance since Russia’s invasion of the country on 24th February 2022, spoke at his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
“It has been a year since the start of this absurd and cruel war, a sad anniversary,” he said.
“The number of dead, wounded, refugees and displaced people, the [amount of] destruction and economic and social damage speak for themselves,” Francis said.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, attended the audience along with a delegation of Ukrainian officials.
“May the Lord forgive so many crimes and so much violence. He is the God of peace. Let us remain close to the martyred Ukrainian people who continue to suffer,” Francis said.
Francis has rejected Russia’s assertion that its military presence in Ukraine was part of a “special operation,” condemning what he has described as atrocities and the killing of civilians.
A day after major speeches on Ukraine by US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Pope said: “Let us ask ourselves: has everything possible been done to stop the war? I appeal to everyone who has authority over nations to commit themselves in a concrete way to end the conflict, to reach a ceasefire and start peace negotiations”.
He added: “That which is built on ruins can never be a real victory”.
A peace plan proposed by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last year called for a restoration of territorial integrity and for Russia to reaffirm it according to the UN Charter, which Zelenskiy said was “not up to negotiations”.
It also demanded a withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities.
– PHILIP PULLELLA, Vatican City/Reuters
Due to a knee problem, Francis didn’t join in the traditional Ash Wednesday procession between two churches on Rome’s Aventine Hill. Instead, he presided over an early evening Mass after the procession in hilltop St Sabina Basilica, where faithful gathered for the Catholic Church’s ritual distribution of ashes that are meant as reminders of people’s mortality.
Lent marks a period that can include fasting, prayer and works of charity in preparation for Easter, which this year is on 9th April.
During the service, ashes were sprinkled on Francis’ bowed head while a choir sang hymns.
Lent is the time to “drop the pretense of being self-sufficient and the need to put ourselves at the center of things, to be the top of the class, to think that by our own abilities we can succeed in life and transform the world around us,” the pope said in his homily.
“The ashes we receive this evening tell us that every presumption of self-sufficiency is false and that self-idolatry is destructive, imprisoning us in isolation and loneliness,” he said.
Instead, Lent serves “to remind ourselves that the world is bigger than our narrow personal needs, and to rediscover the joy, not of accumulating material goods, but of caring for those who are poor and afflicted,” Francis said.
“Let us…take stock of ourselves, to free ourselves from the dictatorship of heavy schedules, crowded agendas and superficial needs, and choose the things that truly matter,” the pontiff said.
In his homily, Francis circled back to an overarching theme of his nearly 10-year-old papacy – attention to the individuality of those in need, particularly the poor.
“Alms-giving is not a hasty gesture performed to ease our conscience,” the Pope said. ”Rather, it is a way of touching the sufferings of the poor with our own hands and heart.”
Holy Week services, starting on 2nd April with Palm Sunday and including the traditional Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum, draw large crowds of pilgrims and tourists to Rome and the Vatican.
