Pope Francis this Sunday asked for “concrete charity” for all countries suffering from wars, poverty and natural disasters, in the customary prayer of the Angelus, in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City.
“The love of Jesus asks us to let ourselves be touched by the suffering of those who suffer,” said the pope, referring to the thinking “especially in Syria and Turkey, in the numerous victims of the earthquake”, but also ” in the daily dramas of the dear Ukrainian people and of so many peoples suffering from war, poverty and environmental devastation”.
Francisco also expressed his closeness to New Zealand because of the cyclone that hit the country, causing casualties and extensive damage.
“Let us not forget those who suffer, may our charity be thoughtful and concrete,” the pope urged.
The Vatican’s head of state has sent several tons of food to the quake-hit region of Turkey, according to Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal chaplain.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than eight million to European countries – according to the latest data from the United Nations, who classify this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
On Saturday, Turkish officials raised the death toll from the February 6 earthquakes recorded in the south of the country, near the border with Syria, to about 40,000, a country where nearly 4,000 people have already died, according to official data.
Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle’s journey through New Zealand’s North Island has left at least three dead and more than 10,500 people homeless, the country’s authorities said on Wednesday.
Source: DN
