1 April 2018 | Message, Urbi et Orbi

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS EASTER 2018

Central loggia of the Vatican Basilica

[…]
We Christians believe and know that Christ’s resurrection is the true hope of the
world, the hope that does not disappoint. It is the power of the grain of wheat, the
power of that love which humbles itself and gives itself to the very end, and thus
truly renews the world. This power continues to bear fruit today in the furrows of our
history, marked by so many acts of injustice and violence. It bears fruits of hope and
dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment, where
there are migrants and refugees (so often rejected by today’s culture of waste), and
victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery.
Today we implore fruits of peace upon the entire world, beginning with the beloved
and long-suffering land of Syria, whose people are worn down by an apparently
endless war. This Easter, may the light of the risen Christ illumine the consciences of
all political and military leaders, so that a swift end may be brought to the carnage
in course, that humanitarian law may be respected and that provisions be made to
facilitate access to the aid so urgently needed by our brothers and sisters, while also
ensuring fitting conditions for the return of the displaced.
[…]
We invoke on this day fruits of hope for those who yearn for a more dignified life,
above all in those areas of the African continent deeply affected by hunger, endemic
conflicts and terrorism. May the peace of the risen Lord heal wounds in South Sudan
and open hearts to dialogue and mutual understanding. Let us not forget the victims
of that conflict, especially the children! May there be no lack of solidarity with all
those forced to abandon leave their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for
living. [..]