:00:17. > :00:27.Good morning. You join us as thousands of pilgrims from near and
:00:28. > :00:33.far Rian St Peter's Square, on Easter Day, this, the climax of the
:00:34. > :00:37.greatest festival of the Christian calendar. Eagerly, as you can see,
:00:38. > :00:44.anticipating Pope Francis coming out of the central balcony of St Peter's
:00:45. > :00:49.to give his Easter message and blessing. These events take place
:00:50. > :00:54.against the background of a gloomy, sombre week in Europe, with the
:00:55. > :01:01.Brussels attacks on security fears in the aftermath. There is, we know,
:01:02. > :01:09.stepped up security here, even if it has not been highly visible in St
:01:10. > :01:14.Peter's Square itself. Now, the Pope, about to step forward onto the
:01:15. > :01:23.balcony to deliver this, his annual Easter message, in his homily at the
:01:24. > :01:28.first mass yesterday, he urged Christians not to let fear and
:01:29. > :01:30.pessimism imprison them. Today, he said, is a celebration of our hope,
:01:31. > :01:55.so necessary today. The curtains are closing behind the
:01:56. > :02:01.Pope, as we wait for the delivery of this message. The Pope, just
:02:02. > :02:11.beginning the fourth year of this papacy, the 266th Pope, a popular
:02:12. > :02:15.Pope. In many ways, a Pope bringing change, certainly in the mood of the
:02:16. > :02:20.church, if not yet in actual doctrine. His words are always heard
:02:21. > :02:41.with great interest, of course. The particular focus of the Easter
:02:42. > :02:46.message is very much setting global events of all kinds in the context
:02:47. > :03:00.of the Easter message itself, that message of renewal and hope.
:03:01. > :03:06.Hush descending over the crowd, the last hour and a half has been the
:03:07. > :03:19.Easter Mass, taking place. Dear brothers and
:03:20. > :03:40.sisters, Happy Easter! TRANSLATION: Jesus Christ,
:03:41. > :03:43.the incarnation of God's mercy, died on the cross, and out of love
:03:44. > :03:53.he rose again from the dead. That is why we proclaim
:03:54. > :04:00.today: Jesus is Lord! His resurrection fulfils
:04:01. > :04:03.the prophecy of the Psalm - God's mercy endures
:04:04. > :04:21.forever, it never dies. We can trust him completely,
:04:22. > :04:24.and we thank him because for our sake he descended
:04:25. > :04:38.into the depths of the abyss. Before the spiritual
:04:39. > :04:43.and moral abysses of mankind, before the chasms that open up
:04:44. > :04:48.in hearts and provoke hatred and death, only an infinite mercy
:04:49. > :05:02.can bring us salvation. Only God can fill those
:05:03. > :05:09.chasms with his love, prevent us from falling into them
:05:10. > :05:16.and help us to continue our journey together towards the land
:05:17. > :05:29.of freedom and life. The glorious Easter message,
:05:30. > :05:35.that Jesus, who was crucified is not here but risen, offers us
:05:36. > :05:41.the comforting assurance that the abyss of death
:05:42. > :05:46.has been bridged and, with it, all mourning,
:05:47. > :05:53.lamentation and pain. The Lord, who suffered
:05:54. > :05:58.abandonment by his disciples, the burden of an unjust condemnation
:05:59. > :06:03.and shame of an ignominious death, now makes us sharers of his immortal
:06:04. > :06:10.life and enables us to see with his eyes of love and compassion
:06:11. > :06:16.those who hunger and thirst, strangers and prisoners,
:06:17. > :06:27.the marginalised and the outcast, the victims of oppression
:06:28. > :06:33.and violence. Our world is full of persons
:06:34. > :06:40.suffering in body and spirit, even as the daily news is full
:06:41. > :06:45.of stories of brutal crimes which often take place within homes,
:06:46. > :06:56.and large-scale armed conflicts which cause indescribable
:06:57. > :07:12.suffering to entire peoples. The risen Christ points out paths
:07:13. > :07:20.of hope to beloved Syria, a country torn by a lengthy
:07:21. > :07:28.conflict, with its sad wake of destruction, death,
:07:29. > :07:36.contempt for humanitarian law To the power of the risen Lord
:07:37. > :07:54.we entrust the talks now in course, that good will and the cooperation
:07:55. > :07:57.of all will bear fruit in peace and initiate the building
:07:58. > :08:01.of a fraternal society respectful of the dignity and rights
:08:02. > :08:16.of each citizen. May the message of life,
:08:17. > :08:27.proclaimed by the Angel beside the overturned stone
:08:28. > :08:29.of the tomb, overcome hardened hearts and promote a fruitful
:08:30. > :08:34.encounter of peoples and cultures in other areas of the Mediterranean
:08:35. > :08:38.and the Middle East, particularly in Iraq,
:08:39. > :08:52.Yemen and Libya. May the image of the new man,
:08:53. > :08:57.shining on the face of Christ, favour concord between Israelis
:08:58. > :09:04.and Palestinians in the Holy Land, as well as patience,
:09:05. > :09:09.openness and daily commitment to laying the foundations of a just
:09:10. > :09:13.and lasting peace through direct May the Lord of life also accompany
:09:14. > :09:34.efforts to attain a definitive solution to the war in Ukraine,
:09:35. > :09:41.inspiring and sustaining initiatives of humanitarian aid,
:09:42. > :09:47.including the liberation May the Lord Jesus, our peace,
:09:48. > :10:00.by his resurrection May he draw us closer on this Easter
:10:01. > :10:09.feast to the victims of terrorism, that blind and brutal form
:10:10. > :10:18.of violence which continues to shed blood in different parts
:10:19. > :10:27.of the world, as in the recent attacks in Belgium, Turkey,
:10:28. > :10:28.Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, May he water the seeds of hope
:10:29. > :10:53.and prospects for peace in Africa - I think in particular of Burundi,
:10:54. > :11:06.Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, marked
:11:07. > :11:13.by political and social tensions. With the weapons of love, God has
:11:14. > :11:20.defeated selfishness and death. His son Jesus is the door
:11:21. > :11:29.of mercy wide open to all. May his Easter message be felt ever
:11:30. > :11:32.more powerfully by the beloved people of Venezuela
:11:33. > :11:40.in the difficult conditions which they are experiencing,
:11:41. > :11:43.and by those responsible for the country's future,
:11:44. > :11:48.that everyone may work for the common good,
:11:49. > :11:50.seeking spaces of dialogue May efforts be made everywhere
:11:51. > :12:09.to promote the culture of counter, justice and reciprocal respect,
:12:10. > :12:14.which alone can guarantee the spiritual and material
:12:15. > :12:21.welfare of all people. The Easter message of the risen
:12:22. > :12:24.Christ, a message of life for all humanity, echoes down
:12:25. > :12:30.the ages and invites us not to forget those men and women
:12:31. > :12:39.seeking a better future, an ever more numerous throng
:12:40. > :12:44.of migrants and refugees - including many children -
:12:45. > :12:47.fleeing from war, hunger, All too often, these brothers
:12:48. > :13:06.and sisters of ours meet along the way with death or,
:13:07. > :13:10.in any event, rejection by those who could offer them
:13:11. > :13:19.welcome and assistance. May the forthcoming
:13:20. > :13:22.World Humanitarian Summit not fail to be centred on the human person
:13:23. > :13:25.and his or her dignity, and to come up with policies capable
:13:26. > :13:34.of assisting and protecting the victims of conflicts
:13:35. > :13:39.and other emergencies, especially those who are most
:13:40. > :13:47.vulnerable and all those persecuted On this glorious day,
:13:48. > :14:02.let the earth rejoice, in shining splendour,
:14:03. > :14:08.even though it is so often mistreated and greedily exploited,
:14:09. > :14:12.resulting in an alteration I think especially of those areas
:14:13. > :14:22.affected by climate change, which not infrequently causes
:14:23. > :14:28.drought or violent flooding, which then lead to food crises
:14:29. > :14:37.in different parts of the world. Along with our brothers and sisters
:14:38. > :14:44.persecuted for their faith and their fidelity to the name
:14:45. > :14:52.of Christ, and before the evil that seems to have the upper hand
:14:53. > :14:58.in the life of so many people, let us hear once again
:14:59. > :15:03.the comforting words of the Lord ? "Take courage, I have
:15:04. > :15:08.conquered the world!" Today is the radiant
:15:09. > :15:13.day of this victory, for Christ has trampled death
:15:14. > :15:22.and destruction underfoot. By his resurrection he has brought
:15:23. > :15:35.life and immortality to light. He has made us pass from enslavement
:15:36. > :15:41.to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to jubilation,
:15:42. > :15:46.from darkness to light, Therefore let us acclaim
:15:47. > :15:54.in his presence - Alleluia! To those in our society who have
:15:55. > :16:01.lost all hope and joy in life, to the elderly who struggle alone
:16:02. > :16:08.and feel their strength waning, to young people who seem to have no
:16:09. > :16:20.future, to all I once more address To the thirsty, I will give water
:16:21. > :16:36.as a gift from the spring May this comforting message of Jesus
:16:37. > :16:46.help each of us to set out anew with greater courage to blaze trails
:16:47. > :17:34.of reconciliation with God and with And with that, the Pope ends his
:17:35. > :17:38.Easter message. Many references in there, both direct and indirect, to
:17:39. > :17:51.the fact that this has been declared by the Pope, a jubilee year, the
:17:52. > :17:57.Holy Year of Mercy. A year, as many have seen it with the emphasis
:17:58. > :18:02.rather less on the rules of the Church of strict observance than on
:18:03. > :18:09.mercy, mercy being available and open to all.
:18:10. > :18:22.And now the Cardinal Deacon tells the crowd that His Holiness grabs a
:18:23. > :18:28.plenary indulgence of the form laid down by the church to all of the
:18:29. > :18:34.faithful present and also to those who receive his blessing by radio,
:18:35. > :18:38.television and the new means of cumin the occasion. Let us ask
:18:39. > :18:46.Almighty God to grant the Pope, he says, many years as leader of the
:18:47. > :18:48.church. -- means of communication. And peace and unity to the church
:18:49. > :19:20.throughout the world. The granting of indulgences,
:19:21. > :19:36.remission of punishment to since to those who meet the conditions for it
:19:37. > :19:39.following his message today by word. And perhaps a heightened
:19:40. > :20:26.significance on events here in this year of mercy.
:20:27. > :20:31.Now we await the Urbi et Orbi blessing itself given twice a year,
:20:32. > :20:57.at Christmas and at Easter. The Pope waving to the crowd. In his
:20:58. > :21:03.love of informality the Pope can be rather unpredictable. Everybody
:21:04. > :21:14.waiting eagerly to see what he will do and say next, as indeed we do.
:21:15. > :21:24.Traditionally at this time previous popes would deliver the blessing in
:21:25. > :21:29.60 or more languages. Since he became the Pope just over three
:21:30. > :21:54.years ago Pope Francis has chosen to do so in just one language.
:21:55. > :22:09.Instructive always to see what the Pope chose to focus on in the Easter
:22:10. > :22:12.message. Syria, of course, and in particular highlighting that there
:22:13. > :22:18.are these talks taking place currently in Geneva after such a
:22:19. > :22:23.torturous process, placing hope, the hope of Easter if you in those
:22:24. > :22:29.talks, that they might lead to a fruitful conclusion. Now it looks as
:22:30. > :22:36.if the Pope is indeed possibly going to combine a rather personal
:22:37. > :22:41.greeting. With the Urbi et Orbi. Dear brothers and sisters, I wish to
:22:42. > :22:46.renew my wishes of a happy Easter to all of you from Rome and different
:22:47. > :22:51.countries, as well as those following us on television, radio
:22:52. > :23:00.and through other means of communication. May the news of the
:23:01. > :23:07.Resurrection, together with the warm light of the presence of Jesus alive
:23:08. > :23:14.resonate in your hearts, in your families and in your communities.
:23:15. > :23:23.His presence brightens, comforts, forgives and heartens as. Christ has
:23:24. > :23:31.defeated evil from its roots. The door of salvation is wide open, so
:23:32. > :23:35.that everyone can find mercy. I thank you for your presence and your
:23:36. > :23:54.joy on this feast day. Especially I give thanks for the
:23:55. > :24:05.gift of the flowers which again this year come from the people of the
:24:06. > :24:22.Netherlands. Bring the joy of Christ risen to everyone. And, please, do
:24:23. > :24:29.not forget to pray for me. Have a nice Easter lunch, says the Pope,
:24:30. > :24:33.and goodbye. And a very warm response, as so often is the case to
:24:34. > :24:40.this Pope, Pope Francis, delivering, as I say, a very personal greeting
:24:41. > :24:49.alongside the traditional greeting. He remains on the balcony waving to
:24:50. > :25:00.the crowd as they respond warmly to him.
:25:01. > :25:06.As I say, it's not obvious, in many ways, that there is a heightened
:25:07. > :25:08.security presence.