Palm Sunday: Pope Prays For Moscow Attack Victims

Pope Francis on Sunday sent prayers to the victims of the concert hall attack in Moscow.

He described the attack as inhuman acts that violate God’s order during a Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s square.

He said, “I assure my prayers for the victims of the cowardly terrorist attack carried out the other evening in Moscow.

“May the Lord welcome them in his peace and comfort their families, and convert the hearts of thos who organise and carry out these inhuman actions which offend God, who commanded ‘Thou shalt not kill,” he said.

The pontiff presided over Palm Sunday Mass in front of a crowd the Vatican estimated at 25,000 people, but spoke in a weak, faltering voice and did not deliver his homily as planned.

Sunday’s liturgical celebration marked the start of Holy Week, in which the pope presides over a series of important events leading up to Easter, Christianity’s most important holiday.

Last year, for the first time, Francis missed the traditional “Way of the Cross” prayer service on Good Friday.
AFP