Pope Francis stood before an audience of more than 250,000 people to give his first Easter Sunday speech since he was elected to the papacy, during which he called for world peace, urged respect for the environment and pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
In his \u201cUrbi et Orbi\u201d (to the city and the world) address, he also appealed for a resumption of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, an end to the civil war in Syria and political solutions to conflicts in several African countries.<\/p>\n
Formally known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, Pope Francis has made the environment an early hallmark of his pontificate, condemning the \u201ciniquitous exploitation of natural resources\u201d and urging his followers to be \u201cguardians\u201d of creation.<\/p>\n
Francis delivered his message from the central balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica \u2013 the same spot from where he first appeared to the world as pope after his election on March 13 \u2013 to a crowd estimated by the Vatican at more than a quarter of a million people.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeace in Asia, above all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow,\u201d he said, speaking in Italian.<\/p>\n
North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a \u201cstate of war\u201d with South Korea. Tensions have been high since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered a third nuclear weapons test in February, breaching UN sanctions and ignoring warnings from North Korea\u2019s sole major ally, China, not to do so.<\/p>\n
People thronged the open jeep that carried Pope Francis around at the end of a Mass. He stopped to accept a jersey with his \u201cBergoglio\u201d name on it from fans of an Argentine football club and to comfort a handicapped man.<\/p>\n
Francis, who has brought a more simple and personal style to the papacy, said the message of Easter is that faith can help people transform their lives by letting \u201cthose desert places in our hearts bloom\u201d.<\/p>\n
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