Vatican:

On Wednesday, Pope Francis will hold separate meetings with the relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and with family members of Palestinians suffering from the Israel-Hamas war. Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, said the meetings are exclusively humanitarian and aim to express Pope Francis' spiritual closeness to the suffering of each individual. “Every human being is sacred, precious in the eyes of God, and has the right to live in peace,” Bruni reiterated what the Pope had said at the end of last Sunday's Angelus.

Pope Francis during this week’s Angelus implored the faithful to never resign themselves to war. “It takes goodwill. Peace is possible. Let us not resign ourselves to war,” he said. Reiterating his belief, the Holy Father said: “War always, always, always is a defeat,” and he noted the only ones who gain from conflict are those who manufacture weapons.

The Holy Father also renewed his closeness to the people of Myanmar who unfortunately continue to suffer from violence and suppression. A junta was established in 2021 after the military in Myanmar conducted a coup d'état. This prompted a crackdown on dissenters that resulted in widespread arrests, torture, and murders. Pope Francis prayed that the faithful would not be discouraged and would “always trust in the Lord's help.”

The Holy Father also asked for prayers “for the tormented Ukraine and the people of Palestine and Israel.” During the Angelus, Pope Francis highlighted the two distinct ways of approaching God—one founded on fear and the other on trust—by meditating on the parable of the talents from the Gospel of Matthew.

The pope contended that this binary option poses a "crossroads" for the faithful. However, in describing unshakeable trust in the Lord, the pope pointed out that trust grants freedom to act, even in the face of risks and uncertainty about what may come. “Trust frees, fear paralyzes. Fear blocks, and trust unblocks our abilities. And it gladdens the heart of the Father, who rejoices at seeing his children who do not fear him but who love him,” the Holy Father said.