VATICAN CITY – With two children by his side, and tens of thousand of people watching in St. Peter’s square, Pope Francis appealed Sunday for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have died amid an uptick in violence.
From an open window of the Apostolic Palace, the children released two white doves as a gesture of peace. And with those doves, hope took flight and brought with it, the promise of a new day when violence would no longer be the answer.
And then, a large black crow and a seagull swept down on the doves and attacked.
One dove lost some feathers as it tore away from the seagull. The other dove reportedly took a repeated pecking from the crow.
The doves were able to fly away but their fate remains a mystery.