Vatican City sources reported that Pope Francis told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he is "deeply disturbed" by the international community's failure to come up with a common response to the crisis in Syria and other parts of the world. Pope told a crowd of 30,000 after his traditional blessing that "Despite the tools available to the international community, it is difficult to agree on a common action toward peace in Syria or other regions of the world".
Meanwhile Francis called on "all people of goodwill" to join him in praying for peace, and appealed to political leaders to help "justice prevail." The pope spoke after airstrikes by the United States, France and Britain aimed at taking out Syria's chemical weapons capacity, while followed a suspected poison gas attack by Syrian government forces on a rebel held Damascus suburb that killed dozens, including children.
Further Francis last Sunday said "nothing can justify" the use
of chemical weapons and called for negotiations. The Pope added "There is
not a good or a bad war, and nothing can justify such instruments that
exterminate defenseless people and populations and let us pray that the
responsible politicians and military leaders choose another path: that of
negotiations, the only one that can bring peace.
