Pope Francis: 2017 marred by ‘death, lies and injustices’

Pope Francis on Sunday issued a year-end message calling on people to take responsibility for their actions in 2017, saying the year was filled with “death, lies and injustices” 

The Catholic leader, speaking at a service in St. Peter’s Basilica, stated that the year had been “wasted and wounded … in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices,” Reuters reported. 

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He said among a wide range of offenses that had caused “human, social and environmental degradation,” the most obvious indication of “unrepentant and absurd pride” was war, according to the report.

“We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” the pontiff added at his last public event of 2016.

Although Pope Francis did not directly name any specific events from the year, the Catholic leader throughout 2016 repeatedly voiced his concerns about a series of incidents. 

The Pope in May urged President Trump to address climate change, two months before the Trump administration announced they would be pulling out of the Paris agreement meant to combat it.

In April, he condemned the Syrian government’s “unacceptable massacre” of its civilians by way of a chemical weapons attack. 

Last month, the Pontiff talked with officials about ending the ethnic cleansing and migration crisis in Myanmar in which 600,000 Muslim Rohingya people have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the neighboring country of Bangladesh.

He has also spoken out about the threat of nuclear weapons as tensions between North Korea, the U.S. and its allies remain tense.

On Jan. 1, Pope Francis is reportedly set to celebrate a Mass to mark the Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace.