Pope greets Ukrainian children at Wednesday audience
(Vatican Radio) During this
week’s general
audience, Pope Francis extended a special greeting to a group of children
from Ukraine, who had been brought to the Vatican by the international
initiative Children for peace all over the world.
“I greet with special
affection the children of Ukraine, orphans and refugees as a result of the
armed conflict which still continues in the East of the country,” the Pope told
the 80 children who were in St. Peter’s Square for the occasion.
“For the intercession of Mary
Most Holy, I renew my prayer that we may strive for enduring peace, in order
that it may relieve the so exhausted population, and offer a serene future for
new generations.”
The Children for
peace all over the world project aims to promote peace in the world –
with a particular emphasis on Ukraine – through the use of maps which are then
decorated with paper “world peace” doves, on which children write their wishes.
The initiative was launched
in Ukraine December 1, 2015, and was initiated by the Embassy of Hungary in
Ukraine and the Honorary Consulate of the Hungary in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Since its beginning in
November, 2013, the conflict in Ukraine has forced more than a million into
displacement, with hundreds of thousands of those affected being children.
In April, Pope
Francis issued an appeal for peace in Ukraine, calling European
churches to take up a collection for those affected by the conflict.
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