'Choose peace' - Pope Leo urges world leaders to end wars
· RTE.iePope Leo XIV urged global leaders in his Easter message to end the conflicts raging across the world and abandon any schemes for power, conquest or domination.
The pope, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, lamented in a special message to the thousands gathered in St Peter's Square that people "are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent".
"Let those who have weapons lay them down!" the first US pope exhorted.
"Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!"
Pope Leo did not mention any specific conflicts in the message, known as the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing. It was unusually brief and direct.
The pope said that the story of Easter, when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead three days after not resisting his execution by crucifixion, shows that Christ was "entirely nonviolent".
"On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars," Pope Leo urged.
Pope Leo, who is known for choosing his words carefully, has been forcefully decrying the world's violent conflicts in recent weeks and ramping up his criticism of the Iran war.
In a sermon for the Easter vigil last night, he urged people not to feel numbed by the scope of the conflicts raging across the world but to work for peace.
The pope made a rare direct appeal to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, urging him to find an "off-ramp" to end the Iran war.
In his address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday to the Square below, decorated with thousands of brightly coloured flowers for the holiday, Leo offered brief Easter greetings in ten languages, including Latin, Arabic and Chinese.
The pope also announced he would return to the Basilica on April 11 to host a prayer vigil for peace.
Middle East war sets dark tone for Easter celebrations
From the deserted Old City of Jerusalem to the Christian villages in Lebanon caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Hezbollah movement, the Middle East war has set a dark tone for a normally joyous celebration.
In Jerusalem, services in the Holy Sepulchre, the site where Christians believe Christ was resurrected, are being held behind closed doors.
Israel has imposed restrictions on large gatherings as a security precaution because of the constant threat of strikes since the US and Israel began bombarding Iran on 28 February.
"It is the first time in my life that I experience a total closure" of the Holy Sepulchre, Jack Straw, a 52-year-old resident of Jerusalem's Old City said.
"It's sad. The Sepulchre is empty. It's the symbol of the most important event in Christian history," he said, adding that he hoped the closure would only be for this year.
'Situation is tragic'
"The doors are still closed," the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said in his Easter Vigil homily at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
"The silence is almost absolute, broken perhaps by the distant sound of what war continues to sow in this holy and torn land," he said, according to a text of his sermon issued by his office.
In Lebanon, majority Christian areas in the south of the country are caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
In Debel, close to the Israeli border, inhabitants prepared to celebrate Easter Sunday despite the sound of bombardment around their village, now almost totally cut off from the world and dependent on aid deliveries.
"The situation is tragic," town notable Joseph Attieh told AFP by phone.
"People are terrified, and the sound of shelling and gunfire has not stopped for a moment since last night. We haven't been able to sleep.
"We are putting our trust in God," Mr Attieh said, since "this is the only glimmer of hope we will not give up on."