Pope prays for victims of Ethiopia landslides, recalls war always a defeat

Vatican News

Speaking at the conclusion of the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims of the large landslide that swept through a village in southern Ethiopia. He said he is close to the suffering people and to the rescue workers providing assistance. The death toll of 257 victims continues to rise following the two devastating landslides in Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia, while the population affected is in desperate need of humanitarian aid. The first landslide in the remote mountainous locality of Kencho Shacha Gozdi was triggered by heavy rains on 21 and 22 July, and the second one engulfed those who had gathered to rescue people.

War always a defeat

The Pope pointed out how so many people in the world are suffering from calamities and hunger, yet the manufacture and sale of weapons continues, fuelling wars large and small and consuming global resources. He called it a "scandal" the international community should not tolerate, as well as a contradiction to the the spirit of fraternity characterizing the Olympic Games that just opened in Paris. He underscored that "war is a defeat" for humanity. 

Remembering grandparents and the elderly

The Pope then recalled that Sunday, July 28 this year marks the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, that has as its theme "Do not cast me off in my old age" from the Book of Psalms. He decried how the abandonment of the elderly is a sad reality that must be addressed, especially during the summer when loneliness often becomes a heavy burden to bear. 

He asked everyone to hear the voice of the elderly who say: ‘Don't abandon me!’ and to answer them ‘I will not abandon you!’ He also encouraged a strengthening of the alliance between grandchildren and grandparents, young and old, adding that we all say ‘no’ to the loneliness of the elderly, as our future also depends on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. In conclusion he asked everyone to remember the elderly always and to give a round of applause to all grandparents.