- 20 May, 2025
VATICAN, 20 May, 2025: As the ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region holds firm, the Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay has urged both nations to reach a complete and lasting resolution. Tensions had flared after militants carried out a terrorist attack in Kashmir on 22 April, killing 26 civilians. Both countries launched retaliatory strikes over the next four days, before agreeing to a ceasefire on 10 May.
The following day, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the truce, expressing hope that “a lasting accord may soon be reached.” Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay, echoed the Pope’s appeal, saying, “It is time for peace.”
“We are brothers” — a call for dialogue and peace.
He told the Vatican’s Fides news agency, “It is time to put an end to ancient resentments. Ours is a heartfelt appeal for peace in Kashmir. We hope for a full and definitive agreement, which would be important not only for India and Pakistan but for peace in the world.”
Cardinal Gracias emphasised the common heritage shared by the two nations.
“We are brothers—same culture, traditions, thoughts, and feelings,” he said. “All the more reason to sit down face to face and try to address, through dialogue, the knot of the Kashmir region, which has caused us suffering since the time of independence.”
He described the Kashmir conflict as “an ancient territorial dispute that has caused wars, mourning, and suffering.”
"Promote Peace with Realism"
He also cautioned that a prolonged confrontation between two nuclear-armed countries could have devastating consequences for the world.
Cardinal Gracias urged the international community to step in and facilitate mediation through “an urgent diplomatic effort, one perceived by both parties as neutral.”
“Today,” he said, “it is the duty of leaders to abandon religious nationalism and promote peace with realism. This is our hope.”
Courtesy: Vatican News
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