Pope urges ‘prayer for Syria and respect for Lebanese truce by all parties'

On the first Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis condemns war, calling for respects for Lebanese ceasefire and the appeal to elect a president; his attention for Syria, where Aleppo is under the control of jihadist groups and Ukraine where another tragic winter approaches. The Gospel commentary on hope: ‘God works even in dramatic events’.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - From the words of Pope Francis again a firm condemnation of war: ‘A horror, war offends God and humanity, war spares no one’. After the recitation of the Angelus today, the first Sunday of Advent, there was also relief for the ceasefire reached in Lebanon in recent days: ‘I hope that it can be respected by all parties, thus allowing the population,’ said the Pope, ‘to return home soon and safely.'

But above all, there was a strong condemnation of the conflicts for which no solution is in sight. In Palestine, with hostages still being held and the incessant Israeli attacks on the population, in the ‘tormented Ukraine’, which is waiting for winter, and in Syria, with the recent fall of Aleppo.

Pope Francis spoke of the return of Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes, which can take place with the ‘invaluable help’ of the armed forces and called for stability which can be achieved with the imminent election of the president of the Republic.

‘May the institutions will regain their normal functioning in order to proceed with the necessary reforms and assure the country on the role of the example of peaceful coexistence between different religions,’ the pontiff said.

He then turned to Syria, where the militiamen of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - jihadists and pro-Turkish Sunni rebels - have taken control of Aleppo, amid rumours of an imminent coup in Damascus. The Pope said: ‘The war has flared up again causing many victims. Many people are also displaced. ‘I am very close to the Church in Syria. Let us pray!’

It is the path of Advent - the expectation of Christmas, ‘the birth of the King of Peace’ - that can and must bring hope for a peaceful future that with the commitment of all parties is lasting and concrete. Because with war ‘the whole human family is defeated’.

Pope Francis dedicated a special thought to Ukraine as it approaches experiencing a ‘tragic concomitance’: that of war and cold. ‘We have been witnessing for almost two years a tremendous sequence of deaths, injuries, violence, destruction. Children, women, the elderly, the weak, are the first victims’. On the coming winter, he added: ‘It risks exacerbating the conditions of millions of displaced people. It will be very difficult months for them’. He also pleaded for a shared commitment to ‘stop this war and to make dialogue, fraternity and reconciliation prevail’.

Before the Marian prayer, Pope Francis commented on the Gospel passage of the day (Lk 21:25-28, 34-36) in which he speaks of ‘cosmic upheavals and anxiety and fear in humanity’. With this in mind, Jesus addresses words of hope to the disciples: ‘Rise up and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is at hand’ (v. 28). The apostles, faced with ‘persecutions, conflicts, natural disasters’ experience great anguish and ‘think that the end of the world is coming’. Here Jesus suggests to ‘stay awake in the heart’ in order to ‘read events from God's plan, which works salvation even within the most dramatic events of history’.

Thus, Jesus' recommendation is: “Let not your hearts be weighed down” (v. 34). ‘If worries weigh down our hearts and induce us to close in on ourselves, Jesus, on the contrary, invites us to raise our heads,’ explains Pope Francis. “He invites us to make room for Him in order to rediscover hope”.

The theme of hope is central in the month that has begun today, which will see not only Advent but also the start of the Jubilee 2025, with the opening of numerous holy doors. ‘So let us ask ourselves: is my heart weighed down by fear, by worries, by anxieties about the future?’ is the pontiff's question. Is it possible to contemplate this with ‘the eyes of God’? In conclusion, he said: let us now invoke the Virgin Mary, who even in times of trial was ready to welcome the project'.

• Angelus