#BreakingNews Pope Francis Sends 2 Cardinals to Ukraine and says "Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine...War is madness! Stop, please!"

 After the Angelus Pope Francis made an appeal for prayer and aid:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not merely a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery.

The number of victims is increasing, as are the people fleeing, especially mothers and children. The need for humanitarian assistance in that troubled country is growing dramatically by the hour.

I make a heartfelt appeal for humanitarian corridors to be genuinely secured, and for aid to be guaranteed and access facilitated to the besieged areas, in order to offer vital relief to our brothers and sisters oppressed by bombs and fear.

I thank all those who are taking in refugees. Above all, I implore that the armed attacks cease and that negotiation - and common sense - prevail. And that international law be respected once again!

And I would also like to thank the journalists who put their lives at risk to provide information. Thank you, brothers and sisters, for this service! A service that allows us to be close to the tragedy of that population and enables us to assess the cruelty of a war. Thank you, brothers and sisters.

Let us pray together for Ukraine: we have its flags in front of us. Let us pray together, as brothers and sisters, to Our Lady, Queen of Ukraine. Hail Mary...

The Holy See is ready to do everything, to put itself at the service of this peace. In these days, two Cardinals went to Ukraine, to serve the people, to help. Cardinal Krajewski, the Almoner, to bring aid to the needy, and Cardinal Czerny, interim Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The presence of the two Cardinals there is the presence not only of the Pope, but of all the Christian people who want to get closer and say: “War is madness! Stop, please! Look at this cruelty!”.

I greet you all, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and other countries. In particular, I greet the faithful of Concord, California, those from various cities in Poland, and those of Cordoba and Sobradiel in Spain. I greet the community of the French Seminary of Rome, with their relatives, the faithful of Vedano al Lambro, young people of Saronno, Cesano Maderno, Baggio and Valceresio, diocese of Milan, and those of Papiano and Cerqueto, diocese of Perugia. I greet the volunteer donors of the Italian State Police, as well as the participants in the pilgrimage in memory of my visit to Iraq, exactly one year ago.

This afternoon, along with the collaborators of the Roman Curia, the Spiritual Exercise will begin. We keep all the needs of the Church and the human family in our prayer. And you too, please, pray for us.

I wish you all a blessed Sunday and a fruitful Lenten path! Enjoy your meal, and arrivederci.

FULL TEXT Source: Vatican.va - Official Translation