Pope Francis thanked the welcome and the effort made for his visit and asked again for peace in Ukraine: “What must still happen?”. After the Mass presided over on 14 September, the Holy Father asked that today, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we feel spiritually united “to the national shrine of the Queen of Peace in Oziornoje”, the only Marian shrine in Central Asia.
“Gratitude to the Lord for the holy people of God who live in this great country joins his effort to promote dialogue and becomes a plea for peace, the peace that our world is thirsty for,” he said.
“I think of so many places martyred by war, especially in beloved Ukraine. Let’s not get used to war, let’s not resign ourselves to the inevitable. Let us help those who suffer and insist peace be really tried,” Pope Francis asked.
Faced with this situation, the Pope asked himself: “What must still happen, what number of deaths must we expect before rivalries give way to dialogue for the good of the people, of peoples and of humanity?”
“The only way out is peace; the only way to get there is through dialogue. Let us continue to pray so that the world learns to build peace, also reducing the arms race and turning the enormous costs of war into concrete aid for the population”, said the Holy Father.
Finally, he thanked “all those who believe in this, thanks to you and to all who are messengers of peace and unity”.