Pope Francis held Palm Sunday services in the almost empty St. Peter’s Basilica due to coronavirus restrictions for the second year in a row and said the devil took advantage of the pandemic, according to Reuters.
“Last year we were shocked. This year we are under more pressure and the economic crisis has become severe,” Francis said in his traditional speech on Sunday afternoon after Mass.
“The devil is using the crisis to sow distrust, despair and discord,” he said, adding that the pandemic had brought physical, psychological and spiritual suffering.