At the Angelus, Pope Francis Makes an Appeal "Lay down your weapons! Let an Easter truce begin; but not to...resume fighting, no! a truce to achieve peace, through real negotiations..."

 The Pope's words at the Angelus, 10.04.2022

At the end of the celebration of Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord, before the Apostolic Blessing, the Holy Father Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer.

These are the words of the Pope in introducing the Marian prayer:

Before the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters!

Before concluding this celebration, I would like to greet all of you, especially the pilgrims who have come from various countries, including many young people.   

 To everyone, even those connected through the media , I wish you a good Holy Week!

I am close to the dear people of Peru, who are going through a difficult moment of social tension. I accompany you with my prayers and encourage all parties to find a peaceful solution as soon as possible for the good of the country, especially the poorest, while respecting the rights of all and of the institutions.

We will soon turn to Our Lady in the Angelus prayer . It was precisely the Angel of the Lord who, in the Annunciation, said to Mary: "Nothing is impossible for God" ( Lk 1:37). Nothing is impossible with God . Also to end a war whose end is not in sight. A war that every day puts before our eyes heinous massacres and atrocious cruelties committed against unarmed civilians. Let's pray about this.

We are in the days leading up to Easter. We are preparing to celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ's victory over sin and death . About sin and death, not about someone and against someone else. But today there is war. Why do you want to win like this, in the way of the world? Thus it is only lost. Why not let Him win ? Christ carried the cross to free us from the dominion of evil. He died for life, love and peace to reign.

Lay down your weapons! Let an Easter truce begin; but not to reload their weapons and resume fighting, no! a truce to achieve peace, through real negotiations, also willing to make some sacrifices for the good of the people. In fact, what victory will be the one who plants a flag on a pile of rubble?

Nothing is impossible for God. We entrust ourselves to him, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/04/10/0257/00540.html