Press reports indicate that pilgrims arrived in the Vatican on October 8 to say that the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been reignited. They were wearing the masks with the flags of Nagorno-Karabakh, the enclave they're fighting over.

These people managed to get close enough to His Holiness the Pope in order to give him a letter which includes asking him to intervene to stop this conflict that has left hundreds dead and wounded.

Since the assumption of his papacy, the Pontiff toured numerous countries in the world, tried to settle disputes, and helped heal rifts among various components of warring societies. He championed the cause of the marginalized and the developing world, saying he wanted a "poor church for the poor" and a Catholic community which preaches mercy and understanding in the application of its teaching. 

Pope Francis will definitely leave no stone unturned in his quest for global peace in compliance with the words quoted by the Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."  (Matthew 5:9)

A PLEA FOR PEACE

 The visitors asked the Pope not to remain silent and pleaded with him to intervene with his prayers and his power. They added that he replied saying that he is praying for peace and he knows about this case.

During his visit to Armenia in June 2016, Pope Francis and Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church Kareki-II released peace doves on the Armenia-Turkey border in the direction of Mount Ararat in a gesture of reconciliation and peace.

It is hoped that peace will prevail so that the warring countries "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4 )

POPE: 'THE WORLD DOES NOT NEED EMPTY WORDS'

In his message for the 2020 World Day of Peace, Pope Francis called for openness to dialogue, commitment to forgiveness, and an ecological conversion.

He said, “The world does not need empty words but convinced witnesses, peacemakers who are open to a dialogue that rejects exclusion or manipulation. We cannot truly achieve peace without a convinced dialogue between men and women who seek the truth beyond ideologies and differing opinions. Peace must be built up continually; it is a journey made together in constant pursuit of the common good, truthfulness and respect for law.”

May strenuous efforts be exerted for the attainment of genuine peace so that effective action will be taken in this direction in lieu of empty words.