"THIS IS NOT AN ABSTRACT THOUGHT. We are standing in the place where the stone was rolled away, yet we know all too well that many stones remain sealed around us. Too many tombs have been dug again by hatred, violence, and retaliation. In this Holy Land, which is the mother of faith and has also become a land of constant conflict, the question resounds with dramatic force: “Where have you laid him?” For it seems that we place the Lord back in a tomb every time we believe that death has the final word over history, every time we resign ourselves to the logic of the enemy, every time we call an armed truce “peace” and the calculation of damage “justice.” CARDINAL PIZZABALLA AT THE HOLY SEPULCHRE ON EASTER SUNDAY

CARDINAL PIZZABALLA AT THE HOLY SEPULCHRE ON EASTER SUNDAY

Catholic Arena

@CatholicArena

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18h

 

CARDINAL PIZZABALLA AT THE HOLY SEPULCHRE ON EASTER SUNDAY: 

 

 'No people, no language, no history is excluded from this hope. If death has been conquered, then no life is “too lost” to be sought. 

 

Easter is universal because it is born in a specific, concrete, real place—here—and for this very reason it can truly reach the whole world.  

 

This is not an abstract thought. We are standing in the place where the stone was rolled away, yet we know all too well that many stones remain sealed around us. Too many tombs have been dug again by hatred, violence, and retaliation. In this Holy Land, which is the mother of faith and has also become a land of constant conflict, the question resounds with dramatic force: “Where have you laid him?” For it seems that we place the Lord back in a tomb every time we believe that death has the final word over history, every time we resign ourselves to the logic of the enemy, every time we call an armed truce “peace” and the calculation of damage “justice.”  

 

But Easter tells us this: the Risen One is not confined within our strategies for survival. He is a prisoner neither of our reasoning nor of our fears. He has already gone forth, and he goes before us'

 https://x.com/CatholicArena/status/2040840250269040876

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Pope Leo urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to chose peace. This should not be a peace “imposed by force”, he stressed, but one achieved through dialogue – “not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them”.

Pope Leo processes into St Peter's Basilica   (@Vatican Media)

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-easter-vigil-hatred-mighty-sin-resurrection.html

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Pope: Easter drives out hatred and brings down the mighty

At the Easter Vigil Mass in the Vatican, Pope Leo says that “God responds to the hardness of sin – which divides and kills – with the power of love, which unites and restores life”... 

War, injustice, and isolation

In the final portion of his homily, Pope Leo reflected on the “tombs still to be opened today”, such as “mistrust, fear, selfishness, and resentment”, as well as “war, injustice, and the isolation of peoples and nations”.

The Pope exhorted his listeners to not allow themselves to be “paralysed” in the face of such challenges.

Instead, he said, we should imitate the “commitment” of the saints who have gone before us, so that “the Easter gifts of harmony and peace might grow and flourish everywhere and always throughout the world”... 

Flowers in St Peter's Square during the Urbi et Orbi blessing   (@Vatican Media)

Urbi et Orbi: Pope urges world leaders to lay down weapons

On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo appeals to world leaders to choose “not to dominate others, but to encounter them”. He also announces that he will lead a prayer vigil for peace next Saturday, April 11th, in Saint Peter’s Basilica. 

By Joseph Tulloch

Pope Leo XIV has called on world leaders to lay down their weapons and choose “encounter” over domination.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down!”, the Pope urged on Easter Sunday in his traditional Urbi et Orbi (‘To the City and the World’) message.

Speaking to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to chose peace. 

This should not be a peace “imposed by force”, he stressed, but one achieved through dialogue – “not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them”.

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE

The 'globalisation of indifference'

Pope Leo warned that the world is “growing accustomed to violence”.

We are “becoming indifferent”, he said, not only to the deaths of thousands of people, but to the “hatred and division” war causes, as well as its “economic and social consequences”.

Borrowing a phrase from the late Pope Francis, Pope Leo warned of the “ever-increasing ‘globalisation of indifference’”.

“We cannot continue to be indifferent!”, he urged. “We cannot resign ourselves to evil!”.

For this reason, he said, he would be leading a prayer vigil for peace next Saturday, April 11th, in St Peter’s Basilica.

Nonviolence and 'true strength'

At Easter, the Pope said, Jesus won victory over death, and thereby “defeated once and for all the ancient adversary, the prince of this world”.

However, Pope Leo stressed, the power with which Christ won this victory is “entirely nonviolent”, based on a love which “creates and generates”, “forgives and redeems”.

This spirit of love and forgiveness, he said, is the “true strength” that establishes peace, and fosters relationships amongst individuals and societies.

Inner peace

Bringing his Urbi et Orbi message to a close, the Pope stressed that Easter peace is not merely “the silence of weapons” but also an inner peace which “touches and transforms the heart of each one of us”.

“Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ”, Pope Leo urged, entrusting to the Lord "all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only he can give.”

 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-urbi-et-orbi-easter-2026-peace-weapons-war-dialogue.html

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PBS News: Lebanese Christians displaced by war mark Easter far from their homes and churches

Children play outside the “Our Lady of Hope” church, as faithful, some of them displaced from southern Lebanon, attend an Easter Mass, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 5, 2026. Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

By Kareem Chehayeb, Associated Press 

By Isabel DeBre, Associated Press

World Apr 5, 2026 1:52 PM EDT

JDEIDEH, Lebanon (AP) — It was not how the Rev. Maroun Ghafari had envisioned this Holy Week — for years, he had held Easter sermons in his predominantly Christian village of Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

This year, he is preaching from a Beirut suburb, beside a cardboard cutout depicting his church in Alma al-Shaab, now caught in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Since hostilities erupted last month between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group — in the shadow of the wider, U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — over 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes.

Among those displaced from the war-torn south are thousands of Christians. They now find themselves far from their ancestral churches in Lebanon, where Christians have maintained a strong presence through centuries of Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman conquest and plenty of modern-day crises.

 Christians are estimated to make up around a third of Lebanon's population of roughly 5.5 million people. With 12 Christian sects, the country is home to the largest proportion of Christians of any nation in the Arab world... READ MORE  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/lebanese-christians-displaced-by-war-mark-easter-far-from-their-homes-and-churches

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ADC: American Arabs on Pope Francis "WHILE WORLD LEADERS REMAINED SILENT, HE NAMED THE TRUTH: THERE IS A GENOCIDE IN GAZA, AND THE WORLD MUST STOP LOOKING AWAY"

ADC National

@adc

ADC mourns the passing of Pope Francis, a global voice for the oppressed, a truth-teller on Palestine, and a moral leader who never flinched in the face of power. His legacy lives on in our fight for justice.

To our Arab Christian sisters and brothers, to Christians everywhere, and to all people of faith who seek to uphold the true intentions of faith

News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2025
media@adc.org 

Washington, D.C. | Yesterday, millions of Arab Christians celebrated Easter with Christians across the world. We offer warm greetings to those who recently celebrated. For centuries, the vital presence of Arab Christians, whose devotion to peace, justice, and compassion has long enriched both the Middle East and the global community. Despite a common misconception, Arab Christians constitute a vibrant and integral part of our shared heritage, underscoring the diversity that has long been a hallmark of the Arab world.

Unfortunately, Arab Christians, along with other religious minorities in the Middle East, are targeted for how they worship or who they are. In what should be a time of celebration in Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity, Arab Christians are under constant bombardment from Israel. The historic Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City—one of the world’s oldest Christian churches—was bombed on October 19, 2023, killing 18 displaced civilians sheltering inside. Many Christians have sought refuge in the few remaining churches, relying on them for basic necessities and a measure of safety. Before the genocide, Gaza’s Christian population numbered around 2,000, mostly Greek Orthodox. Sadly, that number continues to dwindle as deaths and displacement mount.

Israel has destroyed over 200 cultural and historical sites, and more than 340 mosques—among them the iconic 700-year-old Great Omari Mosque. At least three churches have also been severely damaged, including St. Porphyrius Church itself. At least 16 cemeteries have been desecrated. And Christians across the Middle East face similar threats, with key sites damaged in attacks that further endanger this small yet longstanding community.

While many Christian leaders and groups in the U.S. justify the genocide, Pope Francis, who passed away earlier today, made nightly calls to Gaza’s Christian community from the onset of the genocide, boldly amplifying their voices when much of the world looked away. We mourn his loss, as his persistent stand against the ongoing oppression of Christians in Palestine—and of all those enduring occupation and violence—remains a testament to moral courage.

ADC calls on all world leaders to protect religious minorities by condemning violence against any faith community and holding perpetrators accountable, ensuring that no one is targeted for how they worship or who they are.

In this spirit, ADC remains devoted to our mission, urging those in power to reject genocide, end cycles of violence, and protect the dispossessed. May hope and resilience guide us forward as we strive for the day when every community—regardless of creed—can celebrate in peace. 

https://adc.org/pope-francis/

ADC National

@adc

“He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities… and by his bruises we are healed.” — Isaiah 53:5 This verse speaks of a suffering servant — one who bears the wounds of injustice to bring peace and healing. Easter isn’t just about resurrection — it’s about resurrection through suffering. And nowhere is that more alive today than in Palestine — the land of Christ’s birth, life, and death. As Palestinian Christians face relentless attacks — churches destroyed, worshipers displaced — we witness a people whose faith refuses to die. No nation shows the power of resurrection, the depth of hope, and the endurance of love more than Palestine. This is the true meaning of faith. This is the true message of Easter. #EasterInPalestine

https://adc.org/