After reciting the noon prayer on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the pope said: I think with pain of our brothers and sisters who suffer because of the war. Let us think of the injured population, threatened by the fighting.
– May God free her and support her in the fight for peace – he added.
– I thank God for the release of two Greek Catholic priests. May all prisoners of this war return home quickly. Let us pray together. May all prisoners return home – said Francis.
This is how he referred to the release of two Greek Catholic priests who had been in Russian captivity since November 2022. They were arrested in the occupied by Russia My Diary.
They were released on Friday in a prisoner exchange, along with eight civilians. Fathers Iwan Łewycki and Bohdan Hełeta belong to the Redemptorist order.
War in Ukraine. Pope: Power that is not service is dictatorship
In the reflections preceding the prayer, Francis referred to the image of St. Peter depicted with two large keys.
These are, the Pope explained, “the keys of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus describes not as a safe or an armored room, but with other images: a small seed, a precious pearl, a hidden treasure, a little leaven, therefore as something precious and rich, but at the same time small, something that is not conspicuous.”
– These keys symbolize the service of authority that Jesus entrusted to him, so that he could serve the entire Church, because authority is service. And authority that is not service is dictatorship – said the Pope.
Vatican. The Pope appeals for openness to other people
Francis stressed that “the mission that Jesus entrusts to Peter it is not about barricading the doors and letting only a few selected guests in, but in helping everyone to find the way to enter, in fidelity to the Gospel; so that all, all, all may enter.”
On the feast of the patrons of Rome, Francis emphasized that he especially greeted all its inhabitants and assured his prayers for families experiencing difficulties, for the elderly and lonely, for the sick and prisoners.
He congratulated the creators of the flower carpets that traditionally decorated the area Vatican.
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