Francesco, in a beautiful Angelus message on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, urges never to forget the millions of Jews who perished. He also remembers his friend, poet Edit Bruck, and encourages educating the youth to “have an open heart for all.” The Pontiff appeals for Sudan, where the “most severe humanitarian crisis in the world” is unfolding, and calls for the warring parties to come to the negotiation table. He greets participants of the Communication Jubilee, urging them to “be storytellers of hope.”
Salvatore Cernuzio – Vatican City
Sudan, South Sudan, Colombia. Then war, leprosy, the horror of the Holocaust, the plague of antisemitism and religious persecution, and the hopes for peace from the youth. Pope Francis casts a global gaze from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace after the Angelus on this Sunday, January 26. Thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square under a gloomy sky, including journalists and communication professionals participating in their dedicated Jubilee and the boys and girls of the Peace Caravan organized by Italian Catholic Action. One of them, as is customary every year, joins the Pope at the window to deliver a message on behalf of all the young people: the hope that “all weapons remain silent” and to see the world leaders walk “hand in hand” through the Holy Door.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF POPE FRANCIS’ WORDS HERE
Never Forget the Horror of the Holocaust
A “dream” shared by Francis, who, before the young person’s intervention, in his series of appeals, recalls the observance, tomorrow, January 27, of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. This year marks eighty years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The horror of the extermination of millions of Jewish people and those of other faiths during those years must neither be forgotten nor denied.
Say No to Antisemitism and Religious Discrimination
Francis mentions the “good Hungarian poet” Edith Bruck, the 92-year-old Jewish writer who survived the atrocities of various camps and has become a close friend of the Pontiff over the years. “She has suffered all that …,” the Pope says, recalling that Bruck will be a guest on the TV show Che Tempo Che Fa tonight (where he himself was a guest a week ago) along with Senator for Life Liliana Segre, also a Holocaust survivor. The memory of the extermination prompts the Pontiff to remember “also many Christians, including numerous martyrs,” and to renew the call “for everyone to collaborate in eradicating the scourge of antisemitism, as well as all forms of religious discrimination and persecution.”
Let us build together a more fraternal, more just world, by educating young people to have an open heart for all, in the spirit of brotherhood, forgiveness, and peace.
Appeal for Sudan and South Sudan: Stop the Violence
During the Angelus, the Pope uses the public platform to draw the world’s attention, often distracted by wars classified as ‘minor’ or ‘distant,’ to the tragedy unfolding in Sudan since April 2023. In the third-largest country in Africa, a conflict between government forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, and paramilitary forces, Rapid Support Forces, has led to an unimaginable number of deaths (recently 70 were killed in El-Fasher, in the western part, during an attack on a hospital), 12 million displaced persons, and over 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid. “About two-thirds of the entire population of the country,” according to Emergency.
“The most severe humanitarian crisis in the world,” as Jorge Mario Bergoglio defines it, “with dramatic consequences also in South Sudan.”
“I stand with the populations of both countries and urge them to fraternity, solidarity, to avoid all forms of violence, and not to be instrumentalized. I renew the call to the warring parties in Sudan to cease hostilities and agree to sit at a negotiation table.”
The Pope calls on the international community to do “everything possible to deliver necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced and help combatants find paths to peace quickly.”
Concern for Tensions in Catatumbo, Colombia
With the same concern, Francis looks at what is happening in the Catatumbo region in Colombia, where violence between the ELN and dissidents of the dissolved FARC has killed nearly a hundred civilians in less than a week and displaced almost 32,000 people. The bishops have called for a Day of Prayer for peace this Sunday, which the Pope joins in spirit: “I express my closeness to them and pray,” he emphasizes during the Angelus.
Solidarity with Leprosy Patients
Francis also stands in solidarity with those working for leprosy patients on this World Leprosy Day, observed this Sunday. The Pope encourages continuing efforts to eradicate Hansen’s disease, which has fortunately seen a decline in recent years. Although over 130,000 new cases have been recorded in areas like India, Brazil, and Indonesia. In particular, Pope Francis asks to help those who recover to “reintegrate” into society: “Do not let them be marginalized!”
Greetings to the “Communicators”
Finally, the Pope extends greetings to pilgrims from Italy and around the world, with a special thought for journalists and information professionals who have experienced the Communication Jubilee in recent days.
I urge them to always be storytellers of hope.
