ISLAMABAD – “I express my closeness to the sufferings […] of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace,” Pope Francis’s Easter message read, his last speech before he passed away on Monday.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic church, was 88, and had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he had been driven around St Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday.

Final address

The pope’s Easter message was one of tolerance towards others and respect for diversity — themes he has hammered throughout his 12-year papacy, AFP reported.

But they are especially topical given the myriad conflicts around the globe, most of which were mentioned by the pontiff, including the situations in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and Ukraine.

“On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas!” read the speech.

He appealed to the world’s leaders “not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others”.

Citing “defenceless civilians” and attacks on “schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers”, the pope said “we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity”.

While describing a “growing climate of anti-Semitism” around the world as “worrying”, the pope said his thoughts were with the people of Gaza and repeated his calls for a ceasefire.

“The terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” he wrote in the address.

‘Daily’ calls to Gaza church

People around the world, irrespective of religion, mourned the loss of the pontiff, with many highlighting his repeated support for Gaza.

Author and activist Fatima Bhutto said, “Pope Francis was the only public figure of conscience and compassion we had, the world is morally poorer without him.

“Even as he breathed his last breath, he spoke out for Gaza and called the parish daily to offer what comfort he could to Palestinians. I loved him and will pray for him.”

Fatima was referring to the pope’s near-daily calls to the Church of the Holy Family, Gaza’s Roman Catholic church. Despite his hospitalisation, the pope remained in contact with Reverend Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the church, NPR reported.

In an interview with Vatican News, Romanelli said Pope Francis called him from the hospital at 8pm Gaza time every night, and maintained contact with the church throughout the situation in Gaza.

An X (formerly Twitter) user maintained that while many other churches “shamefully turned their back on Palestine, Pope Francis still kept up his daily contact with the church in Gaza and never failed to keep advocating on their behalf.”

Munther Isaac, a pastor in Bethlehem, said, “Palestinian, and Palestinian Christians in particular, have lost a dear friend today. Pope Francis was beloved in Palestine… His pastoral heart was evident in his insistence on calling the Christian community besieged in Gaza on a constant basis, even from his hospital.”

‘Gaza has lost a friend’

Activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr also mourned the pope’s passing and said, “He was one [of] Palestine’s biggest voices and he will be missed deeply.”

Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari, also highlighted that the pope appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza during his last public address.

Netizens echoed these sentiments, as one person stated on X that Gaza “has lost a friend this morning,” and despite them not being religious, they were saddened to hear of the pope’s passing.

“As an atheist, the passing of Pope Francis still hits me. He embraced everyone, broke barriers and stood for love, freedom and inclusion — things the whole world needs more of. Even before his death, he still urged for a ceasefire in Gaza. Rest easy, Pope,” another individual wrote.

British member of the House of Lords, Meral Hussein, took to X to underscore that his calls for a Gaza ceasefire were “something he consistently called for while ignored by [Joe] Biden and other Christian leaders around the world.”

Indian journalist Rana Ayyub called the pontiff a shepherd who carried Gaza in his prayers and Sudan in his heart.

“Even in his final days, he spoke for the broken, the bombed, the forgotten. A holy soul now at rest, but still walking with the wounded. The world is a lesser place today.”

Another X user said that they would never forget how the pope was attacked for calling for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, and how he withstood the backlash.

“A towering mortal giant in a time of evil and cowardice.”

One person said that even before the pope’s final public speech, he called the situation in Gaza what it was, “a slaughter, a terror, a betrayal of humanity. He spoke for the children bombed, the families destroyed and for the people of Palestine.

“‘This is not war. It’s cruelty,’ he once said. Rest in power.”

A social media user said, “Pope Francis had more compassion than many states and people that usually invoke the universality of liberalism, socialism, decolonisation, and religious unity and solidarity, but failed in current hours of humanity and conscience being shattered in Gaza.”

Another emphasised that the pope was one of the only religious leaders brave enough to “accurately label Israel’s attacks on Gaza as ‘terrorism’ and refused to turn away from it.”

The world has truly lost a beacon of peace with the passing of Pope Francis. Now, more than ever, we need to remember his teachings of harmony. As the pontiff said in his last address, “There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.”

Asia News Network/Dawn