Catholic Pontiff Pope Francis Sunday during his noontime Angelus, prayed for the end of kidnapping in Nigeria and peace in war-ragued Ukraine and other strife torn areas like Palestine and Congo.
The Pope braved a cold which forced him to miss Saturday’s noontime prayer, He was looking healthy on Sunday. Pope Francis said he is close to the Nigerian people and prayed that concrete action must be taken to end the “increasingly frequent kidnappings to stop these episodes.”
On the Ukraine war he said: “How many victims, how much destruction, anguish, and tears in a terrible period which is unfortunately becoming long and for which an end is still not in sight,” he said, saying the war “is not only devastating that area of Europe,” but has caused “a global wave of fear and hatred.”
He said those involved should seek “the creation of a diplomatic solution in the search of a just and lasting peace.”
He also offered prayers for peace in Israel and Palestine, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
