Pope Leo XIV again called for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip and for hostilities to end at his first weekly audience on St Peter’s Square in Rome.
“I renew my appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is paid by the children, elderly, and the sick,” Leo said.
“The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful,” he added.
Addressing thousands of the faithful from all over the world, the new pope emphasised the central role of hope.
Jesus “does not wait for us to become the best soil, but he always generously gives us his word,” Leo said. “This is hope, founded on the rock of God’s generosity and mercy,” he added.
Four weeks after the death of Pope Francis, Leo began the audience an hour later, making repeated reference to his predecessor during his address.
He drove across the square in the pope mobile, blessing children and greeting the throng to calls of Long live the pope.
In conclusion, he addressed the audience in several languages, recalling the words of St Paul: “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
In the face of hatred and war, people were called on especially to sow hope and peace, Leo said.
