Pope Francis is marking the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I with an impassioned plea for people to "not repeat the mistakes of the past," urging them to embrace dialogue to overcome conflicts, according to The Associated Press.
Pope Francis made an emotional plea for peace on Sunday in an impromptu addition to comments delivered at his weekly Angelus address in Saint Peter's Square, the AP reported.
As the Argentinian-born pontiff wrapped up his regular address to the faithful, he spoke of the upcoming centenary of the outbreak of World War One and said his thoughts were on the Middle East, Iraq and Ukraine in particular, according to the AP.
Francis told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square Sunday that he was thinking of children - killed, maimed or orphaned by war - who "for toys, have the debris of war," the AP reported. "I beg you, stop. I ask you with all my heart," Francis said.
With his voice appearing to crack with emotion, the pope broke off from his scripted remarks to make a direct appeal for fighting to end, according to the AP. "Please stop!, I ask you with all my heart, it's time to stop. Stop, please!"
He cited World War I-era Pope Benedict XV's denunciation of the Great War as a "useless massacre," and said: "Everything is lost with war, nothing is lost with peace. Never more war." according to the AP.
While he made no direct reference to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the comments came after a humanitarian truce broke down on Sunday with the resumption of fighting in which more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians including dozens of children, have been killed, the AP reported.
"Brothers and sisters, never war, never war! I am thinking above all of children, who are deprived of the hope of a worthwhile life, of a future," Francis said, according to the AP. "Dead children, injured children, mutilated children, orphaned children, children whose toys are things left over from war, children who can't smile anymore," he said.
