By Philip PullellaROME (Reuters) - There are no real winners in any war, Pope Francis said on Thursday during a visit to a World War Two military cemetery, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine on his mind.
The cemetery, in an area of Rome that was the scene of street fighting during World War Two, is the final resting place of about 425 soldiers from Britain and its former colonies who died while fighting in Italy.
Truncated lives, lives without a future, here," he said"I thought of the parents, of the mothers who received that letter: 'Madam, I have the honour of telling you your son is a hero.'
So many tears in these truncated lives," he said.
So many people, young and not so young, in the wars of the world, even those closer to us, in Europe and beyond ... so many dead".
Persons:
Philip Pullella ROME, Pope Francis, Francis, Israel, Philip Pullella, Gareth Jones
Organizations:
Roman Catholic Church
Locations:
East, Ukraine, Commonwealth, Gaza, Rome, Britain, Italy, Europe