Do not let yourself be “atrophied by resignation”, not even in the face of this “cruel third world war” that hits the Ukrainian people above all. Do not be “enchanted by the sirens of populism”. Do not follow wizards and false "messiahs" who propitiate imaginative theories of defeatism and conspiracy or who "in the name of profit, proclaim recipes useful only to increase the wealth of the few, condemning the poor to marginalization". Let us look instead to Christ, "God of resurrection and hope": before him we receive the strength and courage not to be afraid in the face of crises. And let us also look to the poor, in whose “face” Jesus is. They are “the most disadvantaged victims of every crisis”. These were the words of Pope Francis, who yesterday celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica on the occasion of the Sixth World Day of the Poor. That of the Pontiff was an invitation to hope, to look up and not to be overwhelmed by the "upheavals of history". For the sixth time, Francis celebrated the anniversary he himself established in 2016 as part of the Jubilee of Mercy. And this year, in a St. Peter’s Basilica filled with bishops, priests and faithful, including several clochards and the needy welcomed by Caritas and other associations, the Pope reiterated his heartfelt appeal also for the victims of the "disaster of war, which causes the death of so many innocent people and multiplies the poison of hatred".
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