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Pope Leo XIV, presiding over the Easter Vigil Mass at St Peter's Basilica, has called on the global community to resist becoming desensitised to the scale of ongoing global hostilities and to actively pursue reconciliation.
During the service on the most sacred night of the Catholic calendar, the first American pontiff reflected on the modern "tombs still to be opened today", identifying them as "mistrust, fear, selfishness and resentment". He observed that these elements have been permitted to "sever the bonds between us through war, injustice and the isolation of peoples and nations". Addressing the faithful during the Saturday night liturgy, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, the Pope delivered a message of resilience against despair. "Let us not allow ourselves to be paralysed," he exhorted, urging those present to instead emulate the dedication of the saints to ensure that "the Easter gifts of harmony and peace" might "grow and flourish everywhere and always throughout the world". While the ceremony marks the biblical account of Christ rising from the dead, Pope Leo XIV noted that "the holy mystery of this night ... extends across the centuries". He explained that the scriptural readings throughout the liturgy provide a glimpse into a "path of reconciliation and grace" spanning from the creation of the world to the resurrection. Although the Pope did not name specific modern conflicts during his homily, he emphasised that the core theme of salvation history is that "God responds to the hardness of sin, which divides and kills, with the power of love, which unites and restores life". Reflecting on the narrative in Matthew's Gospel, he described the resurrection as a testament to "the power of God's love, stronger than any force of evil". He further remarked that while "humanity can kill the body, but the life of the God of love is eternal life, which transcends death and which no tomb can imprison". Quoting from an ancient hymn, Pope Leo XIV stated that the essence of Easter "drives out hatred, fosters concord and brings down the mighty", offering a spiritual response to the "hardness of sin" that currently plagues the international landscape. (ANI)
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