Pope Francis appeals for peace in Sudan and Colombia

By Devin Watkins

Following the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis launched an appeal for an end to the conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, saying it is causing “the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences even in South Sudan.”

He invited warring parties in Sudan to stop fighting and sit down at the negotiating table, calling on the international community to support peace talks and facilitating humanitarian aid.

“I stand close to the people of both countries and invite them to fraternity, solidarity, to avoid all forms of violence, and not to allow themselves to be manipulated,” he said.

The Pope also expressed concern for the situation in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, where many civilians have been killed by clashes between armed groups, which have forced over 30,000 people from their homes.

“I express my closeness to them and pray,” he said.

Horrors of anti-Semitism

Pope Francis then recalled World Leprosy Day, marked on Sunday, and encouraged everyone to integrate sufferers of Hansen’s Disease into society.

Ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, the Pope noted that this year marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

“The horror of the extermination of millions of Jewish people and others of different faiths during those years must never be forgotten or denied,” he said, recalling the example of Hungarian-born poet Edith Bruck, who lives in Rome.

Many Christians, he added, were also killed in Nazi death camps, “among whom there were numerous martyrs.”

“I renew my appeal for everyone to work together to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism, along with every form of discrimination and religious persecution,” he said. “Together, let us build a more fraternal, just world, educating young people to have hearts open to all, in the spirit of fraternity, forgiveness, and peace.”

Communications Jubilee

In conclusion, the Pope greeted all the media professionals who have come to Rome to participate in the Jubilee for the World of Communications.

And he encouraged reporters to “always be narrators of hope.”