At Angelus, Pope Leo urges continued prayers for end to war and especially for victims who are 'the weakest and most defenseless'
The Pontiff also warned that greed makes people forgetful of those who are in need and urged charity toward others.
During his Aug. 2 Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV urged people to continue praying for peace and for an end to wars throughout the world.
The Pontiff further encouraged people to pray that diplomatic solutions to wars around the world may be reached and drew attention to the vulnerable people suffering from wars.
“Let us remember all the victims of hostilities, especially the weakest and most defenseless: children, the elderly and the sick,” he said. “May the Lord comfort those who suffer and bless the work of those who bring aid and consolation.”
Pope Leo also expressed concern regarding recent events in the Spanish territory of Ceuta. About 60,000 North African migrants entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31, according to CBS. The territory, which is located in northern Africa, “has long been considered a gateway for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, and the city has progressively fortified its border in response to perennial illegal border crossings,” The Times reports. Thousands swam across the border from Morocco, according to The Times.
The sudden border rush sparked a humanitarian crisis; Spanish authorities said Aug. 2 that at least 72 people died, some from drowning and “others who were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier,” according to CBS. The outlet reports that officials said most of the 60,000 people had been returned to Morocco as of Aug. 2.
Pope Leo said in his Aug. 2 address, “I am following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta, praying to God that, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, solutions may be found to bring peace, stability and justice.”
Earlier in his address, the Pope also spoke out against the vice of greed, saying it "numbs" people to the point of forgetting people who are suffering. The remarks came during his reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading about several miracles Jesus performed. He emphasized that the providence of God, Who provides for every person, never fails.
Christ’s miracles, such as restoring hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind, “are acts that reveal his special dedication to us and the salvation that he brings to the world,” Pope Leo said. “The Lord is presented as the One who gives meaning to our lives, freeing us from evil and sin.”
He emphasized that people search for happiness in temporary things and will not be satisfied in them. True fulfillment, the Pope proclaimed, is found in Christ, not the objects of greed.
“Dear friends, Christ truly satisfies humanity’s hunger, our hunger for truth and life,” he said. “His gesture teaches us that nothing is discarded when it is shared. Hoarding and waste, on the contrary, are two sides of the same evil: greed. This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst.”
“And so, in the face of an opulence that reeks of decay,” he continued, “we find the outstretched hands of those who have no nourishment, the burned homes of those who have no peace. Faced with the deserts of war and arrogance, let us consider with what kindness the Lord ‘looked up to heaven, and blessed,’ ‘broke the loaves, and gave them’ to his disciples, so that they might distribute them to the crowd.”
The Gospel reading related the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, which, Pope Leo explained, underscores the Christian call to love others generously.
“In this miracle of charity, we recognize the characteristic actions of Jesus, which find their culmination in the Last Supper, for it was then that the Son of God gave us his very life as our brother in humanity,” Pope Leo said. “As we savor the grace of the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to bearing witness to its beauty in our daily actions, beginning with blessing meals at the table with family and friends.”
“In Jesus’ company, even vacations can become a time of fraternal serenity,” he added, “if we reach out to our neighbors in need. Let us therefore ask the Virgin Mary, our loving Mother, to help us grow in charity, so that no one may lack their daily bread.”
