Pope Leo XIV calls for hope in the face of war and the “idolatry of profit”

Vatican City, April 5 (EFE).– Pope Leo XIV today called for hope in the face of the violence of war “that kills and destroys” and the “idolatry of profit” that plunders the earth’s resources, during a massive Easter Sunday Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

CAMERA: MARIANO ROJAS.

IMAGES OF THE EASTER SUNDAY MASS OUTSIDE THE VATICAN.

STATEMENTS BY POPE LEO XIV:

"This Easter proclamation embraces the mystery of our lives and the destiny of history, reaching us to the very depths of death, from which we feel threatened and, at times, overwhelmed. It opens us to unfailing hope, to a light that never goes out, to that fullness of joy that nothing can erase. This message is not always easy to receive; it is a promise that is not always easy to accept, because the power of death always threatens us, both within and without. Within ourselves, when the burden of our sins prevents us from soaring, when the disappointments or loneliness we experience dry up our hopes, when worries or resentments stifle our desire to live, when we feel sadness or weariness, when we feel betrayed or rejected, when we must confront our weakness, suffering, and daily struggles, then we seem trapped in a tunnel from which we cannot see the exit."

"But also outside of ourselves, death is always lurking. We see it ever-present in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the scant attention given to the most vulnerable. We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from everywhere because of the abuses that crush the weakest, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth's resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys."

"Where everything seems dead, the shoots of resurrection reappear from all sides; it is a force without equal."

"We need this song of hope today, and it is we, risen with Christ, who must carry it through the streets of the world."

"Brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter!"

"Where everything seems dead, the shoots of resurrection reappear from everywhere; it is a force without equal."

"We need this song of hope today, and it is we, risen with Christ, who must carry it through the streets of the world."

"Brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter!" "Let those who hold weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue; not with the will to dominate the other, but to encounter them."

"We are becoming accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and growing indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people, indifferent to the aftermath of hatred and division sown by conflicts, indifferent to the economic and social consequences they cause, consequences which, nevertheless, we all perceive."

"There is an increasingly marked globalization of indifference, to use an expression favored by Pope Francis, who a year ago addressed the world from this very place with his final words, reminding us how much will to kill we see every day in the numerous conflicts affecting different parts of the world." "The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons, but the touch and transformation of each of our hearts. Let us embrace the peace of Christ and make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts."

"Let us implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by hatred and indifference, which leave us feeling powerless in the face of evil."