Pope Francis, on Palm Sunday condemned the violence of war and called Christians to forgive their enemies, just as Christ did while he was violently nailed to the cross.
“When we resort to violence, we show that we no longer know anything about God, who is our Father, or even about others, who are our brothers and sisters,” the pope said on 10 April.
“We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time,” the Pope underlined. “Christ is once more nailed to the Cross in mothers who mourn the unjust death of husbands and sons. He is crucified in refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms. He is crucified in the elderly left alone to die; in young people deprived of a future; in soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters.”
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Many people heard these extraordinary words, but only one person responded to them. He was a criminal, crucified next to Jesus,” the pope said in St. Peter’s Square.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis celebrated a public liturgy in St. Peter’s Square for two years. According to the Vatican gendarmes, around 65,000 people were present.
Palm Sunday 2022 marked the beginning of Holy Week and a return to the customary large public celebrations of the Triduum and Easter at the Vatican after the coronavirus.