“War never again!” Pope Francis exhorted 65,000 Bosnians gathered at the Olympic Stadium in Sarajevo Saturday. Even after 20 years of fighting, Bosnia is divided along religious and ethnic lines.
“Some wish to incite and foment this atmosphere [of war] deliberately, mainly those who want conflict between different cultures and societies, and those who speculate on wars for the purpose of selling arms,” said Pope Francis.
“But war means children, women and the elderly in refugee camps; it means forced displacement, destroyed houses, streets and factories. Above all countless shattered lives,” the Pope said.
Bosnia was devastated by the 1990s war, which left 100,000 dead and two million displaced.
Pope Francis reminded them that “blessed are the peacemakers” and urged peace and reconciliation for the country’s large Muslim, Orthodox, and Catholic populations. The pope also met with religious members of these communities as well as the Jewish community during his one-day trip.
Pope Francis appeared visibly moved as two priests and a nun told of their experiences of torture during the war, the BBC reports.
