Pope Francis launched a vibrant prayer for peace on Wednesday, asking for “forgiveness” for death and violence in Ukraine, and quoting Cain and Abel.
“Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kiev”, “died in the arms of his mother in a bunker in Kharkov”, “sent to the front at the age of 20, have mercy on us,” said the pontiff, visibly moved, reading the prayer of an Italian bishop for Ukraine, at the end of the weekly general audience at the Vatican.
Pope Francis asked for forgiveness on behalf of the men, who “continue to drink the blood of the dead broken by weapons”, and whose hands “created to protect have become instruments of death”
The chief of 1.3 billion Catholics “begged” God to “stop Cain's hand”, asking for forgiveness “if we continue to kill our brother, if we continue to kill our brother, if we continue to raise stones from our land like Cain to kill Abel”, alluding to the biblical character, firstborn of Adam and Eve, who killed his younger brother.
“Forgive us if (...) our pain legitimizes the brutality of our actions” the pope continued, before the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall, many of whom wore Ukrainian flags.
On Sunday, the pontiff, who has multiplied calls for peace since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, had called for an “end to the massacre” in the country.
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