Pope prays for victims of Ethiopia landslides, recalls war always a defeat
Vatican news
Pope Francis prays for the victims of the landslides in Ethiopia. He deplores that, while calamities and hunger continue to rage throughout the world, the manufacture and sale of weapons fuel wars and human suffering. He also recalls the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated today, and calls on everyone to always remember them and help them.
Vatican News
Pope Francis delivered a speech at the end of the Sunday Angelus, expressing his prayers for the victims of the massive landslide that ravaged a village in southern Ethiopia. He expressed his closeness to those suffering and to the rescue workers providing assistance. The death toll, 257, continues to rise after two devastating landslides in the Gofa area of southern Ethiopia, while the affected population is in desperate need of humanitarian aid. The first landslide, in the remote mountainous town of Kencho Shacha Gozdi, was triggered by heavy rains on July 21 and 22, and the second engulfed those who had gathered to rescue people.
War is always a defeat
The Pope stressed that so many people in the world suffer calamities and hunger, while the production and sale of weapons continue, fueling wars of all sizes and consuming global resources. He called this a “scandal” that the international community should not tolerate, as well as a contradiction to the spirit of fraternity that characterizes the Olympic Games that have just opened in Paris. He stressed that “war is a defeat” for humanity.
In memory of grandparents and the elderly
The Pope then recalled that next Sunday, July 28, is the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, whose theme is “Do not cast me away in my old age” taken from the Book of Psalms. He denounced the fact that the abandonment of the elderly is a sad reality that must be faced, especially in the summer, when loneliness often becomes a heavy burden to bear.
He asked everyone to listen to the voice of the elderly who say: “Do not abandon me!” and to answer them: “I will not abandon you!” He also encouraged to strengthen the alliance between grandchildren and grandparents, young and old, adding that we all say “no” to the loneliness of the elderly, because our future also depends on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. In conclusion, he asked everyone to always think of the elderly and applaud all grandparents.
Vatican news
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