No nation has felt the brunt of the COVID-19 like the United States, but before it arrived stateside, the disease ravaged Italy. It was the first nation in Europe to lock down to prevent the virus from spreading further and doing even more damage, but the nation has still recorded more than 233,000 known cases and at least 33,600 have died, according to Worldometer .
Now, three months after the lockdown began, Italy is finally looking at easing lockdown measures to the point of welcoming tourists from Europe back.
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But even before the borders can open again, some are already thinking ahead to the future.
Among those speaking out is Pope Francis.
As Reuters reported, during the lockdown, the pope’s regular addresses, masses, and public appearances had to be curtailed. He has carried on with televised masses and ceremonies, but with St. Peter’s Square open to the public again as of May 18, the pope finally addressed worshipers in person, from the balcony, on May 31.
However, before that, he held a special open-air prayer session attended by about 130 healthcare workers and those who had lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
The event, broadcast to tens of thousands of worshippers around the globe as well, marked the largest Vatican gathering since the lockdown started.
While most of the attendees wore masks, Pope Francis did not. However, he did maintain his distance during the ceremony, sitting several meters apart from the crowd.
At the end of the service, Pope Francis chose to address a larger audience, making a plea to world leaders in general.
In his remarks, the pontiff urged world leaders to think long-term.
While Pope Francis acknowledged that nations forced to lock down face considerable short-term challenges when it comes to their economies, he said their leaders needed to re-build in a lasting way, diverting funds from weapons as a measure to prevent the next pandemic.
The pope prayed that the Madonna’s spirit would “touch (leaders’) consciences so that enormous sums spent to possess more armaments and to perfect them be instead destined to the promotion of sufficient research to prevent such catastrophes in the future.”
The pope has made other appeals to world leaders in recent weeks.
Among others, Pope Francis implored the international scientific community to work together to develop a vaccine for the virus and to share that vaccine globally.
h/t: Reuters