After the prayer of this Sunday, Pope Leo XIV raised his voice in defense of peace in Ukraine and referred with pain to the shipwreck that occurred off the coast of Mauritania, where at least of 70 migrants died and around 100 remain missing.
The Holy Father indicated that“Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine continues to sow death and destruction.” He recalled that “also these days, the bombings have reached several cities, including the capital, kyiv, causing numerous victims.”
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Given this situation, he said: “I renew my closeness to the Ukrainian people and all affected families. I invite everyone not to yield to indifference, but to approach with prayer and with concrete gestures of charity.”
“I strongly reiterate my urgent call to a high immediate fire and a serious commitment to dialogue. It is time for those responsible to renounce the logic of weapons and undertake the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community,” he added.
The Pope stressed that “the voice of weapons must shut up, while the voice of fraternity and justice must rise.”
“Our hearts are injured” by the wreck in Mauritania
Leo XIV also referred to the dramatic shipwreck that occurred in the Atlantic, when a boat that transported migrants overturned when trying to reach the Canary Islands.
“Our hearts are also injured by the more than fifty people killed and the approximately one hundred who are still missing,” said the pontiff.
He recalled that “this mortal tragedy is repeated every day in the world” and urged the Church and society to respond with reception: “We pray for the Lord to teach us, as individuals and as a society, to fully put into practice his word: ‘I was passing through, and they stayed’ (Mt 25,35).”
World Prayer Day for Creation 2025
At the end, the Pope also recalled that tomorrow, September 1, the World Day of Prayer for Creation Care will be held, instituted by Pope Francis in 2015 together with Patriarch Bartolomé I.
“This celebration is more than ever important and urgent, and this year it has as its theme ‘Paz y Esperanza and Hope,” he said.
The Pontiff encouraged Christians to live in a Franciscan spirit this quotation: “In the spirit of the song of brother Sun, composed of him 800 years ago, we praise God and renew our commitment not to spoil his gift, but to take care of our common house.”
Finally, he entrusted “all the injured, missing and deceased, anywhere in the world, to the loving hug of our Savior.”
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.