The Pope has lamented the “continuous attacks” in Ukraine, which “are having increasingly serious consequences for civilians” and “are widening this rift between peoples and pushing a just peace further away.”
The Pontiff expressed this after the Angelus prayer this Sunday, where he also lamented that the attacks in Ukraine “leave entire populations exposed to the winter cold.”
“I follow what is happening with pain. I am very close to them and to all those who are suffering,” Pope Francis said from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, where he also renewed his call for peace and asked that “efforts to end this war be intensified even further.”
Furthermore, the Pope remembered those suffering from leprosy on the occasion of World Leprosy Day, which is commemorated this Sunday.
In this regard, he expressed his closeness “to all those affected by this disease and to all those who care for these leprosy patients, committing themselves to protecting their dignity.”
