56 armed conflicts rage on the planet – what he calls “the world war in pieces” – while the Pope speaks to military personnel from around the world and urges them not to “cultivate a spirit of war”: “always defend life.” He reminds them that “armed service should only be exercised for legitimate defense, never to impose dominance on other nations.” However, fatigued by the bronchitis he has suffered from in recent days, Francis interrupts the reading of the homily of the Jubilee Mass for the armed forces, police, and security, and passes the text for Archbishop Diego Ravelli, his direct collaborator as master of pontifical liturgical celebrations. “Now, I apologize a bit, and ask the master to continue reading, due to difficulty in breathing,” he says, applauded by the 30 thousand military personnel present in St. Peter’s Square, 20 thousand from Italy and the others from over 100 countries.
A scene that had already been seen on February 5, when during the general audience Francis had passed the reading of the text to one of his collaborators. “I want to apologize – he said – because with this strong cold, it is difficult for me to speak.” However, the bronchitis of these days did not prevent the Pope from canceling audiences, limiting them to Casa Santa Marta. And today, Francis does not give up presiding over the mass in the square, in this, the second major event of the Jubilee, after that of the world of communication. Ministers Guido Crosetto and Giancarlo Giorgetti are also present, as well as top military and police leaders.
“I would like to urge you not to lose sight of the purpose of your service and your actions: promote life, save life, always defend life,” Bergoglio says in the homily. “I ask you, please, to be vigilant – he affirms -: vigilant against the temptation to cultivate a spirit of war; vigilant not to be seduced by the myth of strength and the noise of weapons; vigilant not to be contaminated by the poison of hate propaganda, which divides the world into friends to defend and enemies to fight.”
The Pope recalls the “great mission” of the Armed Forces and Security: “defending our countries, commitment to security, safeguarding legality and justice, presence in prisons, fighting crime and various forms of violence that risk disturbing social peace.” He also mentions “those who offer their important service in natural disasters, for the safeguarding of the environment, for the rescue of lives at sea, for the most vulnerable, for the promotion of peace.”
“Your presence in our cities and neighborhoods, your always being on the side of legality and the side of the weakest, becomes a lesson for all of us – he observes -: it teaches us that good can prevail despite everything, it teaches us that justice, loyalty, and civic passion are still necessary values today, it teaches us that we can create a more humane, more just, and more fraternal world, despite the opposing forces of evil.” Speaking of military chaplains, Francis emphasizes that “they do not serve – as has sadly happened in history – to bless perverse acts of war.”
At the Angelus, which he reads personally, he renews his appeal: “Let us pray for peace, in the tormented Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu, in Sudan. May the weapons fall silent everywhere and may the cry of the peoples, who ask for peace, be heard!”
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