Pope says wars amid pandemic are scandalous during Easter address

Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi blessing (Filippo Monteforte/Pool photo via AP)

Pope Francis has used his traditional Easter Sunday address to denounce as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage on even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering.

Francis tempered his “Urbi et Orbi″ wishes of joy on the Christian feast day along with accounts of pain from the globe’s many armed conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.