Pope Francis said to Putin, “God, stop Cain's hand!” and asked to stop the invasion of Ukraine.

Today, Pope Francis prayed to the general audience asking for peace for the war in Ukraine after the invasion of Russia, which began as “Forgive me the war, Lord.”

Before thousands of believers gathered in Paul VI Hall for the general audience, the Pope did not appeal to Ukraine today, but gave an interesting prayer written by the Archbishop of Naples, Mimmo Battaglia.

“Jesus, born under the bomb of Kiev, have mercy on us! The Lord Jesus, who died in the bosom of his mother in Kharkov's bunker, have mercy on us! Lord Jesus, who spent 20 years to the front, have mercy on us! Lord Jesus, who still sees his armed hands in the shadow of the cross, have mercy on us! ”, Francis prayed in front of the silence of the tomb of the auditorium.

And the prayer continued. “Lord, if we do not rest on the nails that pierce our hands, we continue to drink the blood of the dead torn by weapons. If this hand you created to protect has become a tool of death, please forgive me.”

“Lord, forgive me if we continue to kill our brother, if Cain kills Abel by removing stones from our fields. If we continue to justify cruelty with fatigue, forgive me if we justify the cruelty of our actions with pain.” The Pope prayed before concluding: Stop Cain's hand!”

Before catching the audience, the Pope met Italian students in front of the general audience, reminded the children who escaped the bomb in Ukraine and “those who suffered” and said that they were “victims of adult pride.”

“Now I ask you to think and think. Let's think about the many children, boys and girls who are at war and are suffering in Ukraine today. They are six, seven, fourteen years old, just like you...” The students of the “La Zolla” school in Milan were greeted at St. Peter's Basilica.

“You have a future ahead of you, you are convinced that you will grow up in a society of peace, but these little ones have to run away from the bomb, they suffer from cold weather.” He added.

(Including information from EFE)

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