World

Pope prays for Ukraine at large Mass in Malta

 
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in front of thousands of people and called for prayers for Ukraine on the second day of his Malta trip.

'Let us pray for peace and remember the humanitarian tragedy of martyred Ukraine'', the head of the Catholic Church said in Floriana - a suburb of the capital Valletta - at the end of the Mass celebration. The country is still under bombardment from this 'sacrilegious war'', he said. In his homily the leader of the Catholic Church spoke of the 'worm of hypocrisy' that could creep in. People pretend to be good and decent and are only concerned about the faults of others rather than their own, he explained. According to Vatican sources, about 20,000 people attended the service, but local authorities in the predominantly Catholic country estimated the number of participants to be lower. - dpa