Embrace peace, Pope tells massive prayer vigil

Vatican City, Sep 7, 2013 / 03:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Addressing myriad people in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis denounced war as a “defeat for humanity” and called on world leaders and individual Christians alike to rebuild a “shattered” harmony.

“Let us pray for reconciliation and peace,” the Pope exhorted the crowds. “Let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace!”

Pope Francis and an estimated one hundred thousand people knelt in prayer together in St. Peter’s Square Saturday evening, seeking peace throughout the globe and especially in Syria. The Vatican prayer vigil included hymns, scripture readings, and silent reflection as incense drifted into the night sky.

The U.S. has threatened military strikes against the Syrian government, which the U.S. blames for the deaths of over 1,400 people, including hundreds of children, in an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack.

The conflict between the Syrian government and rebel forces has claimed over 100,000 lives since it began in March 2011. Many fear U.S. intervention would increase the violence and spark a wider conflict.

Pope Francis vigorously emphasized the need to seek peace.

“War always marks the failure of peace. It is always a defeat for humanity,” he said, echoing Pope John Paul II’s words before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

“Look upon your brother’s sorrow and do not add to it. Stay your hand! Rebuild the harmony that has been shattered!”

The Pope said that those who pray for peace must consider their own responsibility for conflict in a fallen world.

“Even today, we let ourselves be guided by idols, by selfishness, by our own interests, and this attitude persists,” he lamented. “We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves.” 

Violence, he said, repeats the sin of the first murderer, Cain.

“We bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and every war. All of us,” Pope Francis declared. “Even today we continue this history of conflict between brothers. Even today we raise our hand against our brother.”

He considered whether it was possible for humanity to change direction.

“Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace?” he asked.

“Yes, it is possible for everyone!” he declared. He called on every person, including those who govern nations, to say “yes” to peace.

The Pope placed the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ at the center of his homily.

“My Christian faith urges me to look to the Cross. How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the Cross if only for a moment!”

“In the silence of the Cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and peace is spoken,” he explained.

The Pope reflected on the goodness of creation as taught in Genesis, where humanity is “one family, in which relationships are marked by a true fraternity.”

In the beginning, mankind’s relationship with God “mirrors every human relationship and brings harmony to the whole of creation,” explained Pope Francis.

Although the world is now marked by sin, this original goodness should inspire us, the Pope urged.

“This evening, in reflection, fasting and prayer, each of us deep down should ask ourselves: Is this really the world that I desire?”

Each person must realize that “to be human means to care for one another,” he continued, calling this a way to peace.

“Dear brothers and sisters: forgiveness, dialogue, reconciliation. These are the words of peace in beloved Syria, in the Middle East, in all the world,” the Pope said.

The Pope’s vigil remarks followed a recitation of the rosary with meditations from the writing of St. Therese of Lisieux.

At the start of the vigil, an image of Mary known as “Salus Populi Romani,” the “Protectress of the Roman People,” was placed near the altar to serve as an inspiration for prayer.

After his homily, Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of people in silent adoration before the Eucharist. He noticeably clutched his own pectoral cross.

After the Liturgy of the Hours prayers, the evening concluded with Benediction.

Thousands of other prayer vigils are being held around the world in response to the Pope’s call to prayer.

Greg Burke, senior communications adviser to the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, said Pope Francis has engaged in a “major peace initiative” in response to the Syria crisis.

“Pope Francis wants to keep this issue alive to make sure everything possible could be done to put an end to the violence, and not to increase it,” Burke said.

Pope Francis: follow Jesus' Way of the Cross

Vatican City, Sep 8, 2013 / 09:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis spoke to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Sunday’s Angelus, encouraging them to follow Christ on the way of the cross.

“Following Jesus does not mean participating in a triumphal procession!” he said on Sept. 8. “It means sharing his merciful love, entering into his great work of mercy for each person and for all mankind. And this forgiveness passes through the cross.”

The Pope reflected on the gospel, in which Jesus “insists on the conditions to be his disciple: to not place anything before love of him, to take up one’s own cross, and to follow him.”

Although there are many who want to follow Jesus, especially when there are miracles, “Jesus does not want to deceive anyone,” explained Pope Francis.

Jesus “knows well what awaits him in Jerusalem, what the way is that the Father asks him to walk,” the Pope continued. “It is the way of the cross, of sacrifice of himself for the forgiveness of our sins.”

Yet “Jesus does not want to complete this work alone,” he added.

Christ “wants to include us also in the mission that the Father has given him.”

After the Resurrection, Jesus gives his mission to the disciples, who “renounce all the goods” of their lives because they have found in Christ “the greatest good, in which every other good receives its full value and significance.”

In “the logic of the Gospel, the logic of love and service” the Christian both “detaches himself from everything and recovers everything,” said Pope Francis. 

Like the disciples, Christians who give up family, relationships, work, and cultural and economic goods, all for the sake of Christ, rediscover them anew in Jesus.

The Angelus followed Saturday evening’s massive prayer vigil for peace throughout the world, especially in war-torn Syria and the Middle East. An estimated 100,000 people prayed with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square and thousands of similar events took place around the world.

Pope Francis thanked those who had participated in the vigil. 

He emphasized the need to pray for the countries of Lebanon “that it may find its hoped-for stability” and Iraq “so that the sectarian violence may lead to reconciliation.”

The Pope also asked for prayers for “the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians” and for Egypt, “so that all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, may commit themselves to build up together a society dedicated to the good of the whole population.”

He reiterated his strong opposition to war, noting that there is a much more profound personal war that each person must fight.

This war entails “a strong and courageous decision to renounce evil and its seductions and to choose the good, ready to pay the price” for such a choice.

Such sacrifice is a true “taking up of the Cross.”

“And what good is it to wage war, so much war, if you don’t have the capacity to wage this (more) profound war against evil?” the Pope lamented.

“The search for peace is long and demands patience and perseverance!” He exclaimed. “Let us keep praying for this!”

Papal peace vigil draws positive response

Vatican City, Sep 8, 2013 / 01:29 am (CNA).- Pope Francis’ four-hour Saturday prayer vigil is part of a “major peace initiative” that is receiving a favorable reaction across religious lines, a leading Vatican communications figure has said.

“Pope Francis wants to keep this issue alive to make sure everything possible could be done to put an end to the violence, and not to increase it,” Greg Burke, senior communications adviser to the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, said Sept. 7.

“The response has been really positive, not only from Catholics, but from other Christians and non-Christians as well.”

The prayer vigil drew an estimated 100,000 people to St. Peter’s Square on Saturday evening. They prayed the Rosary with Pope Francis in the presence of the famous Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani,” the Protectress of the Roman People. Those gathered also prayed in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Pope Francis’ remarks at the vigil strongly condemned war.

“We bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and every war. All of us,” he said. “Even today we raise our hand against our brother. Even today we let ourselves be guided by idols, by selfishness, by our own interests.”

“Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace?” the Pope asked. “Yes, it is possible for everyone!”

Catholics and others held thousands of similar prayer events around the world in response to the Pope’s Sept. 1 call for a vigil for “the whole Church.”

“There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 1.

Burke said that Pope Francis’ numerous actions show how important peace is to him.

“If you look at the Pope’s tweets, his letter to Putin and the G-20, and the diplomatic activity in the course of the week, this has been a major peace initiative on the part of Pope Francis,” Burke said before the vigil. “Today he’s asking everyone to join in by praying. The Pope will be praying not only for Syria but for peace in the Middle East and the entire world.”

The U.S. government has threatened military strikes on Syrian government forces, which it blames for a massive chemical weapons attack that killed over 1,400 people. The Syrian conflict between government and rebel forces has killed more than 100,000 since March 2011.

In a Sept. 4 letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, the host of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Pope Francis urged world leaders to “overcome the conflicting positions” and “lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.”

He said that “one-sided interests” have “hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding.”

China one-child policy denounced as violating women's rights

Washington D.C., Aug 31, 2013 / 04:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As stories of forced abortions continue to surface in China, a women’s rights activist is arguing that the nation’s one-child policy has widespread negative effects on the society, particularly its women.

Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, told CNA that the one-child policy “is enforced through forced abortion, up to the ninth month of pregnancy. It is also enforced through forced sterilization and coercive birth control.”

“This is the true war against women,” she stated.

Littlejohn’s organization recently translated an article by Lili Zeng, a woman from Guangdong Province in the south of China. Posted on the Chinese news site Tianya, the article said that “two days before my baby boy was due, seven family planning officials held down my body and forcibly aborted my baby by needle injection because I did not have a ‘birth permit.’”

The report is one of numerous similar accounts that have surfaced in recent months, as social media allows Chinese women to tell their stories to the world.

Last year, blind pro-life activist Chen Guangcheng made international headlines by escaping house arrest in China and asking to be taken to the U.S. to rest in safety with his family.

In her article, Zeng said that her child was born alive despite the efforts to abort him, yet died soon after birth. According to Zeng, a family planning officer told her, “I am just an executor of the policy.”

“If I were not the family planning director, there would be somebody else who would have handled the situation the same way, and your fate would have been the same,” the official continued. “If you want to blame someone, please blame the (one-child) policy.”

Littlejohn charged that the total number of abortions conducted in recent decades under the one-child policy “is greater than the entire population of the United States,” and that many of the procedures “are forced, and most of those births 'prevented' are females.”

She explained that the policy has heavily impacted Chinese demographics, creating an overall population that is older and more male than it would naturally be. In addition, low fertility rates, between “1.5 to 1.7 children per woman – well below the replacement level of 2.1,” are creating a society that “is getting old before it is getting rich.”

“Beyond this,” she cautioned, “because of the traditional preference for boys, girls are selectively aborted.”

Littlejohn explained that “China has the most skewed sex ratio at birth of any nation: 119 boys born for every 100 girls.”

This sex-selective abortion is resulting in “an estimated 37 million Chinese men who will never marry, because their future wives were selectively terminated,” she added, noting that this imbalance “is a powerful, driving force behind trafficking in women and sexual slavery” throughout Southeast Asia.

The one-child policy further harms women by severely impacting their health, Littlejohn explained.

“Some forced abortions are so violent that the women themselves die,” she observed, “along with their full term babies.”

Forced sterilizations can also “lead to life-long health complications,” and the one-child policy has had a negative effect upon the country’s mental health, she cautioned.

Even the U.S. State Department recognizes “the traditional preference for male children, (and) birth limitation policies” as factors in China having the “highest female suicide rate of any country in the world – approximately 590 women a day,” Littlejohn noted.

“Forced abortion shatters women psychologically,” she said.

Littlejohn urged those who object to the policy to support initiatives to help women in the country, and specifically to help empower “the woman to resist those who want her to abort or abandon her daughter.”

Military involvement in Syria could spark world war, bishop warns

Aleppo, Syria, Aug 27, 2013 / 01:33 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishop of Aleppo, Syria, has cautioned that foreign military action in the country could spark a global war, making the “tragic situation” much worse.

“The only road to peace is dialogue,” said Bishop Antoine Audo on Aug. 27. “War will not take us anywhere.”

“People live in anguish, not knowing what awaits them, and this has been happening during the two years of conflict,” he told Missionary International Service News Agency.

The bishop of Aleppo, one of the cities worst affected by the turmoil, is also the president of Caritas Syria.

He spoke amid escalating international discussions of how to respond to reported chemical weapons attacks in the country.

On Aug. 26, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was “undeniable” that chemical weapons had been used in an attack on civilians outside of Damascus five days earlier.

“I have seen thousands of civilian victims of the violence,” Bishop Audo said. “We are in need of someone that brings us hope for peace, not a new charge of hatred.”

He stressed that “if there is will, dialogue is always possible, even in the darkest situations.”

“Even in Syria there are alternatives to war,” he said.

In a separate interview with Vatican Radio, Bishop Audo warned, “If there were a military intervention, in my opinion this means world war.” 

He echoed Pope Francis’ call for “true dialogue between the different parties of the conflict in order to find a solution.”

The “clear” and “direct” words of Pope Francis “give confidence to all of us who are now here, especially in Aleppo, in a very difficult situation,” Bishop Audo said. “The Holy Father’s message is very appreciated by a large part of the population.”

Holy See to investigate nuncio on charges of sexual misconduct

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2013 / 03:33 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has launched an investigation of the Apostolic Nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Polish Archbishop Joseph Wesolowski, in the wake of accusations of grave sexual conduct. 

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi announced on Wednesday that the Holy See has also accepted the resignation of the nuncio.

Speaking to Reuters, Father Lombardi said Archbishop Wesolowski “has been relieved of his duties and the Holy See has launched an investigation.”

The Vatican spokesman’s announcement followed statements made during a press conference today by the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Dominguez, who said no formal accusations have yet been made against the nuncio.

Dominguez said the investigation is still in its initial phase and that he has appointed an official to coordinate with the Vatican.

A report on Dominican Republic television alleged that the Nuncio had frequented poor neighborhoods in Santo Domingo seeking sexual favors from minors.

The Apostolic Nunciature in the Dominican Republic, which also serves Puerto Rico, has not issued any statement, but according to official records, Archbishop Wesolowski stepped down from his post on August 21.

Father Lombardi also said that the archbishop was relieved of his duties “in the last few weeks,” in the wake of the accusations made against him.

The bishops of the Dominican Republic announced that they would hold a press conference on the matter on Thursday.

Pope Francis announces global prayer vigil for peace on Sept. 7

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2013 / 07:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Departing from his typical reflections on the Sunday gospel, Pope Francis used his Angelus audience today to call for peace throughout the world, particularly in conflict-ridden Syria.

“I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from the deep within me,” he said to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 1.

“There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming,” continued the Pope.

“For this reason, brothers and sisters, I have decided to call for a vigil for the whole Church,” he announced.

It will be “a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, in the Middle East, and throughout world.”

The vigil will take place on Sept. 7, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace. Those who can will gather in St. Peter’s Square from 7 p.m. until midnight: other local Churches are requested to join in the fasting and prayer by gathering together.

Pope Francis extended his invitation to “fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.”

“Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace!” said the Pope.

“All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace,” he charged.

“I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs all of humanity!”

The Pope went on to lament the use of arms and its negative impact on civilians, the unarmed, and children, particularly recently in the “martyred country” of Syria.

“With all my strength, I ask each party in this conflict to listen to the voice of their own conscience, not to close themselves in solely on their own interests, but rather to look at each other as brothers and decisively and courageously to follow the path of encounter and negotiation, and so overcome blind conflict,” he said.

Pope Francis also asked the international community “to make every effort to promote clear proposals for peace in that country without further delay.”

He rejected the use of chemical weapons and requested that humanitarian workers “be granted access so as to provide the necessary aid.”

The Pope continued his insistent appeal for peace: “it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.”

Noting Mary’s universal motherly concern, Pope Francis said, “Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children!”

As he has done on previous Sundays, Pope Francis led the crowds in invoking her intercession: “Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!”

Melkite leader says attacks on Syria would worsen situation

Washington D.C., Sep 4, 2013 / 01:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has argued that despite reported chemical attacks in Syria, foreign military intervention is a destructive option that will only worsen the situation.

“I am adding my voice to all the statements made by most of my brother Eastern Patriarchs, several Episcopal Conferences, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and especially His Holiness Pope Francis and his representative at the United Nations in Geneva,” said Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III in an Aug. 30 statement.

“I state categorical rejection by Syria’s Catholic Churches, including the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, in Arab countries and those of the expansion, of any foreign intervention in Syria and any attack or intervention of any sort whatsoever.” 

Patriarch Gregorios III, a native-born Syrian, is the president of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, as well as patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Church in full communion with Rome.

His comments come amid escalating tension in Syria, which has been embroiled for more than two years in a violent civil war between government forces under President Bashar al-Assad and various rebel groups.

Latest figures from the United Nations estimate that more than two million people have fled Syria as refugees, 4.25 million people have been internally displaced within Syria’s borders, and more than 100,000 people have been killed since the violence began.

In late August, reports surfaced that chemical weapons had been used outside Damascus, killing more than 1,400 people.

United States officials say that are confident that the Assad regime is responsible for the use of the weapons, although the regime has denied responsibility and blamed the rebels for the attack. Citing violations of human rights and international norms, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sept. 1 that he is asking Congress to approve military action against Syria.

Patriarch Gregorios III said that even in the wake of continued violence and reported use of chemical weapons, his “conviction is still sure: no victory through weapons and violence.”

Focusing on “defining the responsibility of this or that side for tragedies, massacres and the use of chemical weapons, though legitimate, is secondary” to reaching a peaceful solution, he stressed.

He explained that violence “leads to violence and weapons to other weapons. The parties to the conflict will continue to fight to the bitter end, as they all have an abundance of weapons.”

“The tragic situation that Syria has been experiencing for the last two and a half years is the strongest evidence of the primary importance of seeking the earliest possible peaceful, diplomatic resolution of the crisis,” the patriarch emphasized, arguing that global involvement has only caused the conflict to escalate.

Over the past two and a half years, he said, “Eastern and Western countries have not stopped sending weapons, money, military experts, secret service agents and Salafist fundamentalist armed gangs of thugs and criminals” to Syria. These forces, he charged, have been “far more dangerous even than destructive chemical weapons.”

Encouraged by outside forces, the patriarch said, these factors have contributed to death, displacement and destruction, “not to mention the wrecking of both infrastructure and institutions.”

They have also led to “rape, extortion of ransom, robberies, assaults on civilians, hatred, enmity, revenge, exacerbation of ethnic and religious conflicts,” he said.

In the face of growing troubles, Patriarch Gregorios III still hopes for “a unanimous, global campaign to be orchestrated to prepare seriously and carefully” for the proposed United Nations-backed Geneva II Middle East Peace Conference that has been tentatively suggested for later this year.

“Contrary to the calls to arms, attacks and military interventions,” he said, “we enjoy listening to appeals from around the world aimed at creating an atmosphere of reconciliation, dialogue, humanitarian solidarity, hope, forgiveness and finally peace.”

In the meantime, the patriarch said, Melkite Catholics “are launching a campaign of prayer in our churches, homes, youth movements and confraternities.”

He added that they “join in the calls for prayer that have been launched around the world for peace in Syria, as that is the real movement for solidarity with Syria.”

Among other calls for peace in the region, Pope Francis has announced a global day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world and particularly in Syria on Sept. 7. He will lead a prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square that evening and is asking people of all faith backgrounds to participate locally “in whatever way they can.”

Pope: welcome, celebration, mission the soul of Christian life

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2013 / 12:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Reflecting on the recent World Youth Day held in Brazil, Pope Francis said at his General Audience today that hospitality, celebration and mission are reminders of the event that drew millions.

“Three words: hospitality, celebration and mission. These words are not only a reminder of what happened in Rio, they are also the soul of our lives and of our communities that help to build a world of greater justice and solidarity,” Pope Francis said Sept. 4 at St. Peter's Square.

The Bishop of Rome used his first General Audience after a two-month summer pause to reflect on the pilgrimage to Brazil.

“We think about the meaning of the crowd of youths that met the risen Christ in Rio de Janeiro and who carry their love to the life of others each day, they live it, they communicate it,” he said.

“They aren’t going to appear in newspapers, just because they don’t do violent or scandalous things, they are not news.”

“But if they stay united to Jesus, build up his Kingdom, build fraternity and sharing, they are a potential force to make the world more just and beautiful, to transform it!”

He said the experience of World Youth Day is a reminder of “the true, great story of the news, the Good News, although it does not appear in newspapers or television: we are loved by God, who is our Father, and that he has sent his Son Jesus to be close to each of us and to save us.”

“He sent Jesus to save us, to forgive us all, because he always forgives: He always forgives, because he is good and merciful.”

The Pope challenged the youths present in the square, commissioning them to have the courage to transform themselves in hope, opening doors “to a new world of hope.”

He had begun his address by thanking God for the providence of having made South America the destination of his first international trip as Roman Pontiff: “For me, coming from the Americas, it was a beautiful gift!”

He also thanked all the Brazilians who made possible the pilgrimage, saying, “the reception by Brazilian families and parishes was one of the nicest features of this World Youth Day.”

“Good people, these Brazilians. Good people!” he remarked. “They have a great heart.”

Noting that pilgrimage “also involves discomfort,” he said the warm hospitality pilgrims received from their Brazilian hosts “helped to overcome this” and transformed it into “opportunities for knowledge and friendship.”

Pope Francis added that the celebratory nature of the event was “a sign for everyone, not just for believers.”

“But then there is the biggest celebration which is the feast of faith, when we praise the Lord together, singing, listening to the Word of God, remaining in the silence of adoration: this is the culmination of World Youth Day, the real purpose of this great pilgrimage.”

He described Mass as the high point in “the great feast of faith and of fraternity, which begins in this world and will have no end.”

“But this is possible only with the Lord! Without the love of God there is no real feast for man!”

It is the celebration of the feast of faith, Pope Francis explained, which leads to the mission of spreading hope and the Gospel.

The shore of Copacabana beach, he said, “suggested the shore of the Sea of Galilee,” where Christ commissioned his first disciples.

“Only through Christ can we bring the Gospel … with him, however, united with him, we can do so much. Even a boy, a girl, who in the eyes of the world counts for little or nothing, in the eyes of God is an apostle of the Kingdom, is a hope for God!”

Pope Francis then renewed his invitation made on Sept. 1, calling on everyone throughout the world and of any religion to fast and pray intensely on Sept. 7 for peace, particularly in Syria.

“Next Saturday we will live together a special day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world,” he said. “Even for peace in our hearts, because peace begins in the heart!”

“I renew the invitation to the whole Church to live intensely this day, and even now, I express gratitude to the other Christian brethren, to the brethren of other religions and to the men and women of good will who want to join in this, in the places and ways of their own.”

He said he urged especially pilgrims and Romans to participate in the prayer vigil to be held that day at St. Peter’s Square at 7:00 p.m.

“We plead with the Lord for the great gift of peace. May a powerful cry for peace go up from every land!”