This Easter, among overflowing baskets of mashmellow chickens, chocolate bunnies and Jelly Bellys, lay the bittersweet lamentations of the Pope. 

Speaking Sunday to tens of thousands of faithful at St. Peter’s Square, he cracked the eggshell of Easter’s sugary coating to discuss “how many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world.”

I am happy to say that, for a change, the Pope and I are on the same page.  While Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas often seem divorced from their principled roots and pious traditions — Easter marks the second biggest holiday for candy sales in the United States — the Pope kept the spirit of Christ’s resurrection central to his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” Easter address.  He spoke about terrorism, about kidnapping, and about the parts of the world that need political, economic, and social resurrection the most.

From Darfur to Afghanistan, Congo, and Somalia, the Pope’s call for reconciliation and peace, though idealistic, echoes the sense of hope growing in Northern Ireland.  On a holiday known for it’s pastel bunnies, egg hunts, and baskets of candy, I welcome his social conscience.  I only wish he had a few less conflicts to lament.

Read more about the Pope’s address here.

In The Fray Contributor