Pope calls for world peace from hospital

Pope Francis, writing his Sunday prayer from his hospital bed while battling severe double pneumonia, called for world peace, saying “war appears even more absurd.”

The speech was only distributed in writing, due to the pope’s illness.

The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics specifically mentioned Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, when asking for prayers for the war-torn regions.

The 88-year-old has been in the Gemelli Hospital in north-west Rome since mid-February.

Francis’ illness is again prevented him from delivering Sunday prayers in St Peter’s Square – the first time in his 12-year tenure that he has missed them for a third consecutive week.

From hospital, he expressed his gratitude in writing for the prayers and well-wishes for his recovery from all over the world.