Religious quotes and news – April 27, 2025
Snippets of religious statements and highlights of events from around the world
Evil does not have the upper hand
Extract from Pope Francis’s last Angelus address on Easter Sunday:
“Christ is risen! Jesus is not in the tomb, he is alive! Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge.
“Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end but it no longer has the upper hand. … God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side.
“Christ is present everywhere, he dwells among us, he hides himself and reveals himself even today in the sisters and brothers we meet along the way, in the most ordinary and unpredictable situations of our lives. He is alive and is with us always, shedding the tears of those who suffer and adding to the beauty of life through the small acts of love carried out by each of us.”
Do not remain imprisoned
In his Easter message, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr Francesco Patton, urged people not to remain imprisoned.
“If we want to celebrate Easter, if we want to celebrate it fully, we too must learn not to remain imprisoned in an empty tomb. The Risen Jesus precedes us and walks before us.
“If we want to celebrate Easter, we cannot remain imprisoned in our personal failures: on the human level as well as on the religious level.
“If we want to celebrate Easter, we cannot even remain crushed under the heavy stone of the circumstances in which we find ourselves living, which speak of failure and death.
“The Risen Jesus has already overcome all this and only asks us: “Do you love me to the point of trusting me totally? Are you willing to start over with me? Do you want to put me back at the centre of your life?”