Pope at Easter: Jesus showed nonviolence is true power over evil

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Appealing to those in power to end all conflicts through dialogue and not domination, Pope Leo XIV urged humanity to stop growing accustomed to wars and violence and announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11.

"We cannot continue to be indifferent! And we cannot resign ourselves to evil!" he said April 5 before giving his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). 

"In the light of Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us!" he said. 

"Let those who have weapons lay them down!" he said. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!"

Before delivering his blessing from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo said, "The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons, but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us!"

"Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ! Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts!" he said. "For this reason, I invite everyone to join me in a prayer vigil for peace that we will celebrate here in St. Peter’s Basilica next Saturday, April 11."

Christ's power is nonviolent, Pope Leo said. "Christ, our 'victorious King,' fought and won his battle through trusting abandonment to the Father’s will, to his plan of salvation." 

Jesus walked the path of dialogue, "not in words but in deeds: to find us who were lost, he became flesh; to free us who were slaves, he became a slave; to give life to us mortals, he allowed himself to be killed on the cross," he said in his message. 

This strength and power, he said, is the God of love who creates and generates, who is faithful to the end, and who forgives and redeems. 

According to the Vatican, more than 50,000 people attended the Easter morning Mass in St. Peter's Square, where colorful floral arrangements adorned the steps leading to the basilica, highlighting the joyful celebration of Christ's resurrection.

In his homily, he said, "death is always lurking. We see it present in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable. "

"We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys," he said.

And yet, because of the Lord's resurrection, Christ invites the faithful to "lift our gaze and open our hearts," recognizing that "the Lord is alive and remains with us," the pope said.

"In every death we experience, there is also room for new life to arise," he said. Easter gives the hope "that in the risen Christ, a new creation is possible every day" and that "a new life, stronger than death, is now dawning for humanity."

This is the "song" of hope and joy that today's Christians must proclaim on "the streets of the world," and live out in their daily lives, he said in his homily, "so that wherever the specter of death still lingers, the light of life may shine."

After the Mass, he greeted those gathered in the square and surrounding streets from the central loggia, saying in Italian to great applause, "Brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter!"

He also gave Easter greetings in 10 different languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Latin, though the crowds cheered loudest when he spoke in Spanish and his native English. The crowds enthusiastically waved flags and handed him babies as he was driven around the square in the popemobile after the ceremony.

Before reciting the noonday "Regina Caeli," and giving his blessing, the pope delivered the traditional Easter message from the loggia, where almost a year ago, Pope Francis gave his final words before his death on Easter Monday, April 21. 

Pope Leo repeated his predecessor's words that day, and his warning against the increasing "globalization of indifference" to the "great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world!"

Instead of making a series of appeals for peace regarding specific areas of conflict, as has been the norm, Pope Leo invited everyone to join him in a prayer vigil for peace at the Vatican, a few days before he leaves for a four-country journey to Africa.

"On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil," he said.

"To the Lord we entrust all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only he can give," he prayed. "Let us entrust ourselves to him and open our hearts to him! He is the only one who makes all things new."