Vatican City, Mar 29, 2020 / 05:00 am
Pope Francis appealed for a global ceasefire on Sunday as countries work to defend their populations from the coronavirus pandemic.
"The current emergency of COVID-19 … knows no borders," Pope Francis said March 29 in his Angelus broadcast.
The pope urged nations in conflict to respond to an appeal made by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on March 23 for an "immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world" to "focus together on the true fight of our lives," the "battle" against the coronavirus.
The pope said: "I invite everyone to follow up by stopping all forms of war hostility, promoting the creation of corridors for humanitarian aid, openness to diplomacy, attention to those in a situation of greater vulnerability."