Pope calls for peace in the world, ‘beginning with Syria’

Francis reflected on the power of Christianity’s core belief – that Jesus rose from the dead following crucifixion – in his formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to a packed square below.

The pontiff said the message of the resurrection offers hope in a world “marked by so many acts of injustice and violence”.

“It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s culture of waste, and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery,” he said.

He called for a “swift end” to carnage in Syria, demanding that aid be delivered to the needy there and calling for “fitting conditions for the returned and the displaced”.

The Pope also urged reconciliation in Israel and hoped that mutual respect would “prevail over divisions” in Yemen and the entire Middle East.

Turning to Asia, Francis hoped that talks under way could bring peace to the Korean peninsula, urging “those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment to promote the good of the Korean people”.

For Ukraine, the Pope urged more steps to bring harmony to that divided nation.

He also called for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging…