Vatican City (Fides Service) - "The Lord, who for us hung from the cross, is Risen, alleluia! The festive announcement of Easter resounds once again: Christ is risen, he is truly risen!…This announcement is the basis for humanity's hope. If in fact Christ were not risen, not only would our faith be in vain but so too would our hope, because evil and death would hold us all hostage". This is the initial passage of the Easter Message delivered by Pope John Paul II on Easter Sunday, 20 April, at the end of a solemn Mass celebrated in St Peter's Square with hundreds of thousands of people. Concelebrating with the Pope, together with the Proto-deacon Cardinal Luigi Poggi, was Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
"<Peace be with you>. This is the first greeting the Risen Lord gave to his disciples; this is the greeting that he repeats today to the whole world - the Holy Father said. For everyone, especially the poorest and smallest ones, today we proclaim the hope for peace, true peace founded on the solid pillars of love and justice, truth and freedom". Calling to mind the famous encyclical written by Blessed John XXIII, "Pacem in Terris", Pope John Paul II underlined its importance still today and said: "Peace in Iraq! With the support of the international community, may Iraqis become protagonists of the rebuilding of their country in solidarity. Peace in other regions of the world, where forgotten wars and creeping conflicts cause death and injury amidst the silence and oblivion of no small part of public opinion. With profound grief I think of the trail of violence which shows no sign of ending in the Holy Land. I think of the tragic situation in no few countries of the African continent, which cannot be left alone. I have well in mind the seedbeds of tension and attacks on human freedom in the Caucuses, in Asia and in Latin America, regions of the world just as dear to me."
The Holy Father then invoked God's help that the world may be "set free from the danger of a terrible conflict between cultures and religions. May faith and love for God render believers of every religion courageous builders of understanding and forgiveness, patient weavers of fruitful interreligious dialogue, which will inaugurate a new era of justice and peace".
Lastly the Pope voiced his unswerving hope: "However dark the horizons of humanity may appear, today we celebrate the bright triumph of our Easter joy. Even if the wind blows against the path of the peoples, even if the sea of history is in tempest, no one must lose courage! Christ is risen! Christ lives among us, truly present in the sacrament of the Eucharist."
At the end of his message, broadcast live world wide, the Pope voiced Easter greetings in 62 languages and gave his Urbi et Orbi Blessing. See Easter message in various languages at www.fides.org SL (Fides Service 23/4/2003 EM lines 33 Words: 485).