Pope Francis extended his “loving greeting” to the people of the United States of America whom, he said, are “shaken by the recent assault on Congress” and said he is praying for the five people who lost their lives “in those dramatic moments.”
The Pope was speaking during the Sunday Angelus just days after an angry mob stormed Capitol Hill and clashed with police as Congress convened to validate Joe Biden’s presidential win.
“I reiterate that violence is always self-destructive,” Pope Francis said, adding that “Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.”
“I urge the State authorities and the entire population to maintain a high sense of responsibility in order to soothe tempers, promote national reconciliation, and protect the democratic values rooted in American society,” he said.
The text, from the Vatican’s website:
Dear brothers and sisters, I offer an affectionate greeting to the people of the United States of America, shaken by the recent siege at the Congress. I pray for those who lost their life – five – they lost it in those dramatic moments. I reiterate that violence is always self-destructive. Nothing is earned with violence and so much is lost. I exhort the government authorities and the entire population to maintain a deep sense of responsibility, in order to calm souls, to promote national reconciliation and to protect the democratic values rooted in American society. May the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States of America, help keep alive the culture of encounter, the culture of care, as the royal road to build together the common good; and I do so with all those who live in that land.
