Pope Francis on Sunday strongly condemned the continued attacks on Ukraine, saying that the "massacre" must end.
Since President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on February 24, the Pope has avoided using the term "Russia" in his denouncements of the invasion. However, the Pope's statements increasingly appear to be targeted at dismissing Moscow's explanations for the assault on the Eastern European nation, wherein millions suffer.
Pope Francis Calls for Peace
Speaking to the faithful gathered at St. Peter's Square, the head of the Catholic Church called the bombings of children's hospitals and attacks on civilians in the ongoing war "barbaric" and unreasonable that is why he is calling to end the Russian-Ukraine war.
'In the name of God, I ask you, stop this massacre," the 85-year-old spiritual leader said in front of an audience holding banners and signs calling for peace, as the Angelus prayer is being recited, as per Daily Mail.
The head of the Catholic Church also prayed to the Virgin Mary and the city bearing her name - Mariupol, which has become a city of martyrs in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Thousands of its inhabitants remain without food, water, electricity, or heat as relentless shelling continues to blast shops and residential apartments.
On Wednesday in Mariupol, Russian forces bombed a children's and maternity hospital, killing at least three people, including a girl, who is six years old.
Prayers for Ukraine
Amid the dreadful situation in Ukraine, Pope Francis also requested all diocesan and religious communities to intensify their prayers for peace, saying that "God is only God of peace, not of war."
Pope Francis urged people to welcome Ukrainian migrants and commended those who served those fleeing the war.
The war in Ukraine has forced not less than 2.5 million migrants to leave the country. Per Reuters, the majority of whom moved to Poland.
'Hell' in the City Named After Virgin Mary
According to a report from the Catholic News Agency, one priest evacuating Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine on the Azov Sea, informed the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need about the dire condition in the city named after the Virgin Mary.
The priest identified as Father Pavlo described Mariupol as "like Armageddon. "It is hell" as there are "random" shootings happening, and the city surrounded by Russian Forces is "like one big battlefield." "Everywhere bombs are falling. Everywhere you just hear shooting ... The people are just sitting in their basements," the priest said.
In a video message, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk reported that Mariupol, a city with 400,000 people, is "under complete siege" and people are dying from hunger and the cold weather, while "on their heads, there are falling on rockets, shells, bombs."
Shevchuk encouraged everyone to remember the victims of the "tragedy" and called to open humanitarian corridors.
"Give women, children, and the elderly an opportunity to leave this cold, besieged city. Give us the opportunity to send food and medicine there. Give us an opportunity to rescue people," he said.
The United Nations Human Rights Office estimated 1,424 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 516 individuals deceased and 908 injured in the ongoing war. The true figures are expected to be "considerably higher," according to the report.
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