Pope Leo XIV: Angelus appeals for persecuted Christians, peace in Ukraine, victims of road accidents, abuse survivors – Crux

    
       
    
Pope Leo XIV at the window of the Apostolic Palace to pray Angelus. Image ©Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV appealed for persecuted Christians around the globe on Sunday, making specific mention of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and including in his appeal “other countries from which we frequently hear of attacks on communities and places of worship.”
RELATED: More killings highlight growing ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria
“God is a merciful father,” the pontiff said, “who desires peace among all His children.”
Leo also expressed his closeness to families in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a rebel group backed by the so-called Islamic State murdered at least 20 civilians in an attack on a church-run hospital.
Conducted by a group called the Allied Democratic Forces, the Friday night attack took place in the village of Byambwe, in the Lubero territory of North Kivu province.
The Associated Press reported mothers of newborn children among the victims.
“Women who were breastfeeding were brutally slaughtered and found with their throats slit in their hospital beds,” regional administrator Col. Alain Kiwewa told the AP.
“Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good,” the pope also said.
The pope’s appeal immediately followed his Sunday Angelus prayer with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
In remarks following the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Leo XIV also said he is following news of ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine, where on Friday of the past week hundreds of Russian drones and more than a dozen missiles struck targets in the capital Kyiv, many of them civilian.
The strikes killed at least six people and wounded at least three dozen others.
“We must not grow accustomed to war and destruction,” Leo said.
“Let us pray together for a just and lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine,” the pope said.
Also in his Angelus appeals, Pope Leo XIV prayed for victims of road accidents.
“May the Lord welcome the deceased, sustain the injured, and comfort the grieving families,” the pontiff prayed, remembering “all who have died in road accidents, too often caused by irresponsible behavior.”
“May each of us examine our conscience on this matter,” Leo said.
Pope Leo XIV also offered prayers for victims of abuse everywhere, as the church in Italy this Sunday marked a Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse.
“I also join the church in Italy,” Pope Leo said, “so that a culture of respect may grow as a guarantee of protecting the dignity of every person, especially minors and the most vulnerable.”
At the Vatican and around the world on Sunday, the Catholic Church marked the World Day of the Poor.
“I thank those in dioceses and parishes who have promoted initiatives of solidarity with the most disadvantaged,” Leo said, mentioning specifically his recent apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te – “I have loved you” – on love for the poor, “a document Pope Francis was preparing in the final months of his life,” Leo recalled, saying he completed the work “with great joy.”
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