At his public audience on Sunday, July 31, Pope Francis said that in Ukraine, “the only reasonable thing to do would be to stop and negotiate.” The Pope said that he was praying for Ukraine during his week-long visit to Canada, “asking God to free them from the scourge of war.”

During the same audience, commenting on the day’s Gospel, the Pope said that covetousness “is an illness that destroys people.” The unbridled desire for possessions, he said makes people slaves.