Pope Francis calls for Easter truce in Ukraine to lay ground for peace

Pope Francis has called for an Easter truce in the Ukraine (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis opened Holy Week Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people”.

Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St Peter’s Square for the first time since the pandemic, Pope Francis called for “weapons to be laid down to begin an Easter truce, not to reload weapons and resume fighting, no. A truce to reach peace through real negotiations.”