"Senselessness of war generates poverty," the Pope said in a message on VI World Day of the Poor
The Message was released on June 14 by Vatican Radio.
After the pandemic, a new catastrophe appeared on the horizon, which was destined to impose a different scenario on the world, and the war in Ukraine came, "Pope Francis' message reads. The longer the conflict drags on, the more its consequences worsen, so the Pope calls for solidarity with those who need help and bring everything to its logical conclusion.
"The war in Ukraine has come, adding to the regional wars that have been reaping death and destruction over the years. But here, the picture seems more complicated due to the direct invasion of a "superpower" that intends to impose its will contrary to the fundamental self-determination of peoples. Once again, pictures from tragic memory are repeated, and once again, the mutual blackmail of some powerful people shouts over the voice of humanity calling for peace.
What great poverty is produced by the senselessness of war! Everywhere you look, we can see how violence affects the defenseless and the weakest. Deportation of the millions of people, thousands of people, especially children, to eradicate them and impose a different identity on them.
Millions of women, children and the elderly are forced to face the dangers of bombing to escape by seeking asylum as refugees in neighboring countries. Every day, those remaining in the war zone face fear, a lack of food, water, treatment, and, above all, a lack of human warmth. In such difficult situations, the mind dims, and the consequences of this are felt by many ordinary people who replenish the already huge number of beggars. How can we provide an appropriate response that will bring relief and peace to many people left to the mercy of uncertainty and instability?
In this controversial context, the World Day of the Poor VI will be celebrated with encouragement borrowed from the Apostle Paul to keep our eyes focused on Jesus," the Pope says in the message.
The pontiff notes that in recent years, peoples have opened and continue to open their doors to receive millions of refugees fleeing the war in the Middle East, Central Africa, and now Ukraine.
"Families have opened their homes wide to welcome other families, and communities have welcomed numerous women and children to give them the dignity they deserve. However, the longer the conflict drags on, the more its consequences become more acute. Host nations are experiencing increasing difficulties in ensuring continuity of support; families and communities are beginning to feel the burden of a situation that goes beyond an emergency. It's time to resist and renew your initial motivation. What we started must be completed with the same responsibility," the Pope says.
The pontiff speaks of solidarity, which consists precisely of this: "to share a little of what we have with those who have nothing so that no one suffers."
"The legacy of the achieved security and stability can now be shared with those who are forced to leave their homes and their country to escape and survive. As members of civil society, let us keep alive the call for the values of freedom, responsibility, fraternity and solidarity. And as Christians, we always look for the foundations of our existence and deeds in love, faith and hope," the Pope urges.
"War with consequences at the global level must teach us something decisive: we are in the world not to survive, but to allow everyone to live a dignified and happy life," the Pope said.
