The Pope: 'The world rejects war, leaders do not ignore the weak'
The Pope's message to the faithful in St. Peter's Square: "As John Paul II taught us, be sentinels of mercy and peace".
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Key points
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"Let us entrust this desire and this commitment to Mary: may she help us to be, in a world marked by so many divisions, "sentinels" of mercy and peace, as St John Paul II taught us and as the young people who came to Rome for the Jubilee showed us so beautifully". This is the message addressed to the faithful, during the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, by Pope Leo XIV who thus recalled the warning of the prayer vigil for the 15th World Youth Day, on 19 August 2000, launched by St. John Paul II a few days before the conclusion of the Youth Jubilee.
Pope Leo's appeal: let us pray for an end to wars
"Let us continue to pray for an end to wars," the Pontiff said, "the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has reawakened throughout the world the dutiful rejection of war as a way to resolve conflicts, those who make decisions should always bear in mind their responsibility for the consequences of their choices on the populations, and not ignore the needs of the weakest and the universal desire for peace.
The Pontiff: sell what you own and give it in alms
Before the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV had pointed out that today, in the Gospel, "Jesus invites us to reflect on how to invest the treasure of our life, he says: "Sell what you have and give it in alms" He exhorts us, that is, not to keep for ourselves the gifts that God has given us, but to use them generously for the good of others, especially those who most need our help. It is not just a matter of sharing the material things we have, but of putting our skills, our time, our affection, our presence, our empathy into play'.
