Pope: Blood of Bucha massacre victims ‘cries out to heaven’

Pope Francis once again pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and violence in Ukraine after images of innocent civilians apparently executed in Bucha sparked outrage and horror around the world.

“The recent news of the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope, attests to new atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha,” the pope said April 6 before concluding his weekly general audience.

The world is witnessing “ever-more horrendous acts of cruelty done against civilians, unarmed women and children, whose innocent blood cries out to heaven and implores, ‘End this war. Silence the weapons. Stop sowing death and destruction,’” he said.

Videos and photographs released April 3, after Russian troops retreated from Bucha and other towns, showed bodies in the streets and in the yards of homes. Many appeared to have been shot in the head, execution-style, and the hands of many of the corpses were bound.

Although Russia dismissed the accusations of war crimes as “fake news,” evidence of mass executions sparked outrage, prompting several countries to expel Russian diplomats from their lands and leading to renewed calls for tougher actions against Russia.

Flag of tears, blood

After leading pilgrims in a silent prayer for the country, Pope Francis held up a Ukrainian flag that was sent to him “from that tormented city of Bucha.”

The pope then invited to the stage several Ukrainian children who recently arrived in Italy and asked the crowd to “greet them and pray together with them.”

The children, accompanied by two women, went up to the pope. One young boy held a hand-made poster of the Ukrainian flag, with a smaller Italian flag in the center and outlines of small hands.

The pilgrims present at the audience hall applauded loudly as the pope welcomed the children, with one shouting, “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine”).”

Gently rolling up the Ukrainian flag, the pope reverently kissed it before handing out chocolate Easter eggs to the children, prompting one of the women, holding a baby in her arms, to wipe away tears from her eyes.

“These children were forced to flee and come to a foreign land. This is one of the fruits of war,” Pope Francis said. “Let us not forget them, and let us not forget the Ukrainian people.”

Small countries set example

Reflecting on his recent visit to the Mediterranean archipelago of Malta, the pope said smaller countries like Malta are called to set an example of true freedom in a world that can seem overwhelmed by powerful nations that seek to extend their own economic, military or ideological interests.

The pope said Malta “represents the rights and power of the ‘small’ nations,” which exemplify the respect, freedom and coexistence that stands “opposed to the colonization of the most powerful.”

“After World War II, the attempt was made to lay the foundations of a new era of peace. But unfortunately – we never learn, right? – the old story of competition between the great powers went on. And, in the current war in Ukraine, we are witnessing the impotence of the United Nations,” he said.

During the audience, Pope Francis told people that the motto of his April 2-3 trip described the “unusual kindness” of the people of Malta when St. Paul shipwrecked on the island nearly 2,000 years ago.

That “unusual kindness,” Pope Francis said, not only describes how countries should treat migrants today, but how countries should treat each other and everyone “so that the world might become more fraternal, more livable and might be saved from a ‘shipwreck’ that menaces all of us.”

Recalling his April 3 meeting with about 200 migrants at the John XXIII Peace Lab in Hal Far, the pope said Christians must never tire of listening to the testimonies of migrants so they can counter the “distorted vision that is often circulated in the mass media.”

“Every migrant is unique. He or she is not a number but a person,” he said. “Each is unique just like each one of us. Every migrant is a person with dignity, with roots, with a culture. Each of them is the bearer of a wealth infinitely greater than the problems they bring.”

– VATICAN CITY (CNS)