Pope Francis: ‘War is a crime against humanity’

By Devin Watkins

“War itself is a crime against humanity. People need peace. The world needs peace.”

Pope Francis launched that appeal for an end to war on Sunday, as he prayed the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.

“At the beginning of the year, we exchanged wishes for peace, but weapons have continued to kill and destroy,” he lamented.

Pope Francis urged everyone to pray for “people who have power over these conflicts,” so that they might realize that war is “not the way to resolve them”.

War, he added, “sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructures.”

He asserted that war is itself a crime against humanity.

The Pope noted that he had just watched Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, speaking on a program on Italian TV.

Fr. Faltas, said the Holy Father, spoke about the need to “educate for peace.”

“We must educate for peace,” said Pope Francis. “It seems that we are not yet—all of humanity—with a sufficient education to stop every war. Let us always pray for this grace: to educate for peace.”

Prayers for landslide victims in Colombia

Pope Francis also called for prayers for the victims of a landslide in Colombia, which killed at least 34 people.

Heavy rains in northwestern Colombia set off a mudslide on Friday afternoon along the highway that connects the cities of Quidbo and Medellin. Dozens of motorists were injured in the incident.

100th day of war in Gaza

The Pope’s appeals came on the same day that the Israel-Hamas war marked its 100th day.

Hamas militants attacked several kibbutzim and communities inside Israel on 7 October, taking 240 people hostage and killing around 1,200 others.

Israel declared war against Hamas that same day, and launched a full-scale military offensive against the militant group in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-run health department in Gaza, around 23,000 people have been killed in the ensuing war. Israel says it has killed some 8,000 Hamas fighters in the Strip.