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POPE FRANCIS’ EASTER ADDRESS APPEALED FOR GAZA CEASE-FIRE  
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Common Dreams Staff
April 21, 2025
Common Dreams
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_ "Will the millions who will mourn his death these coming days
respect this wish of his? Will they care for Gazans and Palestinians
the way he did?" _

Pope Francis shakes hands with an inmate as he meets with prisoners
at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, September
27, 2015. , REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

The Vatican announced
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Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, hours after he appeared at an
Easter mass and appealed for an end to Israel's war on the Gaza
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The pope's Easter address
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read aloud by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, decried the "terrible
conflict" in Gaza that "continues to cause death and destruction and
to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation."

"I appeal to the warring parties: call a cease-fire, release the
hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a
future of peace!" said the message from the pope, an outspoken
opponent of military conflict and war profiteers
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destruction
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and runaway economic inequality
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"In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless
civilians and attack schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers, we
cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are
struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity," the
pope's address continued.

News of Pope Francis' death came after a bout with double pneumonia
left him hospitalized for more than a month. The Vatican did not
specify a cause of death in its announcement.

_The Nation_'s John Nichols wrote
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that Pope Francis' calls for peace have made him "arguably the most
consistent high-profile defender
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the humanity of the Palestinian people during a period when the
Israeli assault on Gaza has been pursued with relentless violence."

Nichols continued:

With a boldness and specificity that has often sparked controversy,
this pope has challenged economic injustice, racism, environmental
neglect, militarism, and the abuses of new technologies that increase
inequality. He has faced his share of criticism, not just from
conservatives who disapprove of his views but also from reformers who
sincerely wish that he would do more to modernize the church. Yet, in
a time of too much indifference and impunity, this pope has remained
uniquely engaged with the embattled regions that political and media
elites neglect or abandon.

That's been especially true when it comes to Gaza, where Pope Francis
has long argued for cease-fires, arms blockades, aid convoys, and a
diplomatic urgency that recognizes
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Palestinians and Israelis are "fraternal peoples have the right to
live in peace."

In a tribute to Pope Francis, Palestinian theologian Munther
Isaac wrote
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"he conveyed true compassion to Palestinians, most notably to those in
Gaza during this genocide."

"The pope left our world today, and the occupation and the wall
remained. Even worse, he left our world while a genocide continues to
unfold," Isaac wrote, pointing to the pontiff's call for a thorough
international investigation
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assault on Gaza.

"Today I wonder: Will the millions who will mourn his death these
coming days respect this wish of his?" Isaac asked. "Will they care
for Gazans and Palestinians the way he did?"

* Pope Francis
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* Gaza
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* Ceasefire
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* Easter Address
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