Pope Francis Hated 2017 Too, Calling it a 'Wasted' Year of Death and Lies


Pope Francis thought 2017 was a terrible year, too.

In his last public address of this tumultuous year, the pontiff called 2017 a “wasted” year that was filled with death and lies, harming the environment and humanity as a whole.

Speaking at an evening vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope said humanity had “wasted and wounded” the past year “in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices.”

Francis singled out wars as the biggest sign of “unrepentant and absurd pride,” but said there were many other offenses that led to “human, social and environmental degradation.”

“We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” he said.

The Pope did not reference any specific events or individuals in his remarks. But the stern address closed off a year in which he often spoke out directly against actions that he saw as an affront to humanity.

Francis was a none-too-subtle critic of President Donald Trump, often speaking out against Trump’s policies and actions without mentioning the commander-in-chief by name. In various addresses, Francis condemned nuclear weapons, border walls, immigration crackdowns, and apathy about climate change, with his comments often timed to Trump’s controversial decisions on those matters. When Trump met the Pope in May, the pontiff asked him to consider non-violent conflicts and a commitment to fighting climate change.

In April, Francis called the deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria an “unacceptable massacre.” Trump ordered a massive missile strike on a government-owned airbase in Syria as retaliation for the attack, which the United Nations blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Last month, Francis traveled to Myanmar to speak with authorities about a crisis in which 600,000 Muslim Rohingya people have been forced out of their homes.

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