Pope calls on Japan to strengthen commitment to peace after Shinzo Abe killing
Pope Francis is hopeful that Japan will strengthen its commitment to peace and against violence despite the “senseless” assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Vatican has said.
In a telegram, Francis said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the killing and he offered his condolences to Mr Abe’s family and the people of Japan.
Mr Abe was fatally shot during a campaign speech on Friday in the city of Nara. Japanese media reported that the gunman, who was apprehended, had developed a hatred towards a religious group to which his mother was devoted.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, signed the telegram, which said of the Pope: “In the wake of this senseless act, he prays that Japanese society will be strengthened in its historic commitment to peace and non-violence.”
Francis last met with Mr Abe during a 2019 trip to Japan.
He visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where two US atomic bombs were dropped in the Second World War, and declared the mere possession of nuclear weapons was “immoral”.
In May, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Francis held a meeting at the Vatican as Russia pressed its war in Ukraine and after North Korea vowed to speed up the development of its own nuclear arsenal.
They vowed to work together to try to rid the world of nuclear weapons, according to Vatican and Japanese officials.
Articles-Latest
- Using Vibrational Aromatherapy In Treatment
- The BI-Gendered God-She-male Gods & The Roots of Christianity
- Geometry and Myth-She-Male Gods & the Roots of Christianity
- Muslim Council Demands Investigation Into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party
- What does the Bible say about homosexuality? Well, for starters, Jesus wasn’t a homophobe
- King Charles attends Easter service, providing a glimpse of the monarch after cancer diagnosis
- We must stand up to religious extremism in the UK before it tears us apart,’ writes Frederick Chedam
- Trump compares himself to Jesus Christ – again
- Pope makes last-minute decision not to deliver Palm Sunday Mass homily
- New York City's mayor gets baptized in jail by Rev. Al Sharpton on Good Friday
- Pope Francis calls predecessor Benedict a key transitional figure
- Lawyers hit out at Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’ after Pope secretly changes law four times
- What we know about the killing of Detroit synagogue leader Samatha Woll
- Sodomy and theology: the feverish birth of the King James Bible
- Africa's Catholic hierarchy refuses same-sex blessings, says such unions are contrary to God's will
- After decades of struggle for a place in Israel, dozens of Black Hebrews face threat of deportation
- Purgatory in the Bible
- Pope’s new ruling on blessings for same-sex couples does not change Catholic teaching - bishop
- Sacred Mysteries: The starwright who bursts forth like the sun
- The Vatican's 'trial of the century,' a Pandora's box of unintended revelations, explained
Articles-Most Read
- Home
- Let There Be Light
- Plants that feel and Speak
- The Singing Forest
- The Singing Forest-2
- Introduction
- Meditation
- Using Essential Oils for Spiritual Connection
- Heaven Scent
- Plants that Feel and Speak-2
- Purification
- Making the Spiritual Connection
- Anointing
- The Sanctity of Plants
- Essential Oils: The unseen Energies
- The Aroma Of Worship - Introduction
- The Aroma Of Worship-Foreward
- Methods Of Use
- Spiritual Blending
- Handling and Storage