Pope Benedict XVI urged Syria to end the bloodshed during his Urbi Et Orbi address on Easter Sunday at the Vatican.
The Pope, who celebrated, Mass in St. Peter’s Square the night before, said:
“May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East and enable all the ethnic, cultural and religious groups in that region to work together to advance the common good and respect for human rights…. Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community.”
The pope also said that he was saddened that Syrian refugees were enduring “dreadful sufferings” and prayed that the people fleeing the country would receive welcome and assistance.
The Pope’s Urbi Et Orbi (To the City and the World) Easter Message came the day after the Pope celebrated an Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. During that mass, the Pope said that the world of a moral darkness that was spreading around the world due to a rise in technology with the absence of God.
“The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil.The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general… If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk… Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment?”
Here’s a video of Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil.
Here’s a video of the Urbi Et Orbi.