In his first Easter blessing, Pope Leo XIV urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to "choose peace" as Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday.
As Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue.
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"Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace," proclaimed the pontiff in a sunny Saint Peter's Square in front of more than 50,000 faithful.
Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them,” he continued, warning that "We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people."
The pontiff later delivered the Urbi et Orbi blessing (Latin for "to the city and the world") from the loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
This year, Easter is celebrated on Sunday 5 April by Roman Catholics and Protestants, while Orthodox Christians of various denominations celebrate a week later.
Peace, resurrection and 'triumph of life against death'
Before the Urbi et Orbi blessing, in the homily of the Easter Mass, the pontiff emphasised the ''triumph against death'' believing in the Resurrection as a principle for building peace.
''Death is always lurking,'' the pontiff recalled during the homily, ''we see it present in injustice, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention to the most fragile."
Death, is also present ''in the violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from all sides for the abuses that crush the weakest, for the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth's resources, for the violence of war that kills and destroys,'' Pope Leo XIV added. He also recalled, however, "the Lord is alive and remains with us. Through cracks of resurrection that make space in the darkness, He delivers our hearts to hope."
Traditional ceremonies in the Middle East affected by war
The war has upended lives and affected Easter celebrations for Christian minorities across the Middle East.
In Jerusalem, the alleyways of the Old City were left deserted by Israel's conflict in Gaza and now the Iran war which has affected the entire Middle East region.
Israeli authorities have severely restricted access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the faithful commemorate Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, due to security considerations.
On routes approaching the church, police checkpoints screened a small number of worshippers allowed near the site. The same restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the Jewish festival of Passover.
In Lebanon, majority Christian areas in the south of the country were caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
In the United Arab Emirates, in-person masses were suspended under the threat of Iranian air strikes. In Damascus, Catholic authorities said Easter celebrations would be restricted to mass after an attack on a Christian town in central Syria.