P. A. Chacko SJ
Pope Leo XIV forcefully appealed for a “ceasefire now!” in Gaza, along with the liberation of all hostages, and that humanitarian law be fully respected.
“From the Gaza Strip,” the Pope said, we hear “rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, and who are continually forced to move about in search of a little food and water and safer shelter from bombardments.”
Since Israel’s bombings started, 19,000 children out of 50,000 Palestinians were killed. Many more displaced, forced out of Gaza and are living in tents.
Ukraine has been subjected in recent days to onslaughts of Russian drones and missiles aimed primarily at civilian targets. Air raids against Ukrainian cities are the largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.
Lakhs of people lost their
lives, their homes, their future. Many became refugees.
Both Gaza and Ukraine are reduced to rubble heaps. Still bombings and killings are going on.
The Pope is appealing to the leaders and to the conscience of humanity in general to wake up and speak up. To pray, act and to show our concern.