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Poland

Pope says religion not to blame for terror attacks

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By Euronews
Pope says religion not to blame for terror attacks

Pope Francis has begun a five-day trip to Poland by taking on the government and implicitly criticising its anti-immigration stance.

The world is at war because it has lost peace

Pope Francis

He urged them to welcome those fleeing wars and hunger in the spirit of Christianity.

The aim of the visit by the plain speaking pontiff is to celebrate World Youth Day but from the very start it has been overshadowed by the killing of the elderly priest by suspected Islamists in France.

Later in an address to the thousands of faithful who had come out to welcome him he urged them not to be afraid. “ Dont be afraid. Don’t be afraid. God is great. God is good. And we all have something good inside of all of us.”

Earlier he had said the world was at war but it was not one of religions.

“Let’s recognise it. The world is in a state of war in bits and pieces,” he said, adding that the attacks could be seen as another world war, specifically mentioning World War One and Two.

“Now there is this one (war). It is perhaps not organic but it is organised and it is war. We should not be afraid to speak this truth. The world is at war because it has lost peace.”

During the trip, Francis will also visit the former Nazi death camp site at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and pray at Czestochowa, site of Poland’s holiest shrine.