VATICAN CITY — The hope Christians have is not a sign of avoiding reality but of trusting in the power of God to defeat sin and death as the resurrection of Jesus clearly shows, Pope Francis wrote in his Easter message. “All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey,” said the message, read before Pope Francis gave his Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) April 20. The pope’s voice was weak, as it has been since he was released from the hospital March 23, and he barely raised his arms as he made the sign of the cross, but the tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square were appreciative and clapped loudly after saying, “Amen.” Before going into the square, the pope had a brief meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
