Pope prays for Christians experiencing discrimination, persecution

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Gospel readings at Mass in November call Catholics "to reflect on the travails of history and the end times," not to frighten them but to remind them of Jesus' promise that "evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him," Pope Leo XIV said.

"Today, in various parts of the world, Christians are subjected to discrimination and persecution," he told an estimated 40,000 people who gathered in St. Peter's Square Nov. 16 for the recitation of the Angelus prayer.

"I am thinking in particular of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan and other countries from which news often arrives of attacks on communities and places of worship," the pope said.

Although other factors also are at play, most of the attacks have carried out by Muslim extremists.

But, Pope Leo said, "God is a merciful father and desires peace among all his children!"

The pope also offered special prayers for the Christian community in Congo's North Kivu province. In the town of Byambwe late Nov. 14, members of the Allied Democratic Forces, a group loyal to Islamic State, attacked a clinic run by the Presentation Sisters, killing 15 people before stealing medications and burning the clinic down. They went to nearby homes as well, killing another five people, Vatican News reported.

"Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good," the pope said.

Pope Leo also prayed for an end to Russia's strikes on Ukrainian cities.

"These attacks cause deaths and injuries, including of children, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving families homeless as the cold sets in," he said. "We cannot grow accustomed to war and destruction! Let us pray together for a just and lasting peace in the tormented Ukraine."

Even amid conflicts, disasters and persecutions, Pope Leo said, "and in the face of the indifference that seeks to ignore them, Jesus' words proclaim that the attack of evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him."

"The darker the hour, the more faith shines like the sun," he said.

"The persecution of Christians does not only happen through mistreatment and weapons," the pope said, "but also with words, that is, through lies and ideological manipulation."

"Especially when we are oppressed by these evils, both physical and moral," Pope Leo said, "we are called to bear witness to the truth that saves the world; to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression; to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace."