Vatican, 20 November 2015: “God weeps when the whole world is at war” said Pope Francis at Thursday’s morning Mass celebrated at Domus Sanctae Marthae. Archbishop Bernard Moras concelebrated along with the Holy Father and prayed for peace and reconciliation as war, conflicts and divisions tear the world.

After the mass, Archbishop Moras greeted His Holiness Pope Francis with the shawl and the garland expressing the love and affection from all priests, religious and the laity of Bangalore Archdiocese as well as Karnataka. The Archbishop presented Pope Francis with a recently published edition of the Holy Bible in Kannadaand a pocket edition of the New Testament. Fr. Christopher Vimalraj, a priest of the archdiocese also joined the Archbishop.

In his homily, the Holy Father repeated the words of Jesus from the Gospel “Today Jesus weeps as well: because we have chosen the way of war, the way of hatred. We are close to Christmas, soon there will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes - while the world continues to wage war. The world has not understood the way of peace.”

Speaking about this unique experience, Archbishop Moras said, “It was a great joy for me to concelebrate at Pope’s Mass, to pray for peace in the world and for the Archdiocese in particular”.

The Archbishop had received a special invitation to participate in the Pope’s mass during his stay here for the international healthcare conference in Rome, Italy. Earlier on Wednesday, the archdiocesan priests and seminarians who study at different universities in Rome met the archbishop and celebrated mass at the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican.