Pontiff had been increasingly vocal about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza before being hospitalized with pneumonia.
Duration A fleeting appearance Before thousands of Catholic pilgrims met in the Plaza de San Pedro for the Mass of the Easter on the outdoor of the Vatican, Pope Francis requested a stop the fire in Gaza.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who was still recovering from an almost fatal episode of double pneumonia, appeared on the balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro on Sunday while an aid said his “Urbi et Orbi” -Latina “Pope” Benediction, Beneday’s humanitarian situation “caused by the War of 18 Montes of Israel in the Palestinian territory.
“I express my closure to suffering … from all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” the message said.
The Pope also asked the Palestinian armed group Hamas to release his captive beachlists and condemned what he said it was a “worrying” trend of anti -Semitism in the world. “Apello to the parties at war: I call a high fire, release the hostages and approach the help of people who aspires to a future of peace.”
Before his newly five weeks at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Francis had been increasing criticism or Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, qualifying the situation “very serious and shameful” in January.
Francis, who has been under the orders of doctors to observe two months of convalescence since he left the hospital on March 23, would normally have presided over the entire event, but this time he was replaced by Cardinal Angelo Comastri.
When informing of the Vatican, James Bays from Al Jazeera said: “This is a man who has been very bad, 38 days in the hospital, double pneumonia, kidney problems, and his doctors at one time thought he was going to do it.”
Bays questioned whether Francis was following the advice of his doctors, after having made “short appearances in recent days”, including a visit to a prison in Rome, where he refrained from making a traditional ritual of foot washing Jessus.
Asked by a journalist after his visit what he felt about this Easter Week in his current condition, the Pope replied: “I am living the best I can.”
Vance visits
Meanwhile, the Vatican also said in a statement that Francis held a private meeting with the vice president of the United States, JD Vance, to exchange Easter greetings on Sunday morning.
On Saturday, Vance had conversations with the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary of the Holy See for relations with the States.
Vance’s visit occurred only two months after a dispute between Francis and the administration of US President Donald Trump in his policies, including plans to deport millions of migrants and refugees and generalized cuts to foreign aid and domestic welfare programs.
The Pope, who called the repression of immigration as a “misfortune,” rejected the attempt to use Vance or the Catholic teachings of the medieval era to justify politics in an unusual open letter to Catholic bishops.
“JD Vance [was] Trying to interpret a certain theology saying that you should take care of the closest to you before worrying about those abroad. The Pope then wrote a letter to the bishops and said: “No, you need to think of everyone,” Bays said.