Vatican City, Jul 27, 2016 / 09:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On the flight to Poland for World Youth Day, Pope Francis on Wednesday responded to recent violence across the globe by saying that the world is at war.
“When I speak of war, I talk about it seriously, but it’s not a war of religion. It’s a war for money, for resources, for nature, for dominion. This is the war,” Pope Francis told journalists on his July 27 flight from Rome to Krakow.
“Could one think of a religious war? No. All religions want peace. Others want war,” he said. “Is that clear?”
Francis addressed the 70 journalists on board the papal plane when, as usual, he came to the back to greet them each individually and thank them for their work.
However, before going down the rows of eager writers and photographers on board, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, who will retire as Vatican spokesman after the trip, asked the Pope to offer some words on the “emotional days” at hand considering recent tragedies, including yesterday’s attack in at a church in Rouen that left an 84-year-old priest dead.
In his comments, Francis noted that “for some time we have said that the world is in a piecemeal war. This is war.”
Frequently what’s happening is called “insecurity, but the true word is war. There was that of 14 (First World War), with its methods, then that of 39 to 45 (Second World War), and now there’s another great war. This is what we are experiencing now.”
This war is real, he said, noting that while it might not necessarily be “organic,” it is organized.
He pointed to yesterday’s attack in the French diocese of Rouen in which Fr. Jacques Hamel, 84, was killed by two Islamic State supporters while celebrating Mass.
“This holy priest who died precisely in the moment in which he offered prayers for the entire Church is one, but there are many Christians, many innocent people, many children,” who suffer the same type of violence and hatred, he noted, pointing to Nigeria as an example.
“It’s war: we’re not afraid to tell this truth,” Francis said, explaining that the world is at war because “it has lost peace.”
The Pope then thanked the journalists for their work during World Youth Day, adding that youth “always speaks to us of hope.”
“Now we hope that the youth tell us something and give us hope at this time,” he said, and offered his thanks to those who “harbor condolences” for yesterday’s attack, as well as French president Francois Holland, who “called me like a brother” after the incident, “and I thank him.”
After offering these brief words to those on board, Pope Francis went down the rows of journalists to greet each of the 70 on board individually.
Article Archive
In route to Krakow, Pope says world is at war, but it's not a war of religions
Related Articles • More Articles
Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024. / Credit: Fadi Dinkha/ACI MenaCNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears."My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she t...
A bishop and a priest exchange the sign of peace during Mass. / Credit: Father Lawrence Lew, OP; photo courtesy of Martin Beek via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).The director of the Chair of Theology of the Consecrated Life at San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in Spain, Sister Carolina Blázquez Casado, OSA, explained that the rite of peace at Mass "is not a greeting or friendly gesture."The sister explained the meaning of the rite in a video posted by the university, which is under the Archdiocese of Madrid.The sign of peace, which takes place between the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and the Fraction (breaking) of the Host, "is a prior step to be able to approach Communion with the body of Christ in a dignified manner," the Augustinian sister explained.The sign of peace is exchanged in recollection of the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:23-24, namely: "Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your ...
null / Credit: Jill Sauve/UnsplashWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 17, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).Arizona House Republicans blocked two attempts on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law protecting life at conception.In a near party-line 30-30 vote on Wednesday, House Democrats failed to gain a majority of votes to suspend the Legislature's rules to fast-track a so-called "abortion ban repeal" bill that would have overturned the 1864 pro-life law. Dormant since being invalidated by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the 1864 law protects all unborn life from conception and imposes prison time for those who "provide, supply, or administer" an abortion. This temporarily stalls ongoing efforts to repeal the law, which is set to go into effect in the next 37 days.Debate on the House floor was tense just before the vote as Democrats called the pro-life law "abhorrent" and "archaic." Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez bashed Republicans, saying that "the fact that we will not even entertain a motion ...