The Pope was surrounded by Military jeeps and armored vehicles at his address

Pope Francis expressed his deep feelings of ‘shame’ of how humans have left the state of the world for future generations to inherit in his Easter address which saw massive security in Rome.  

The Pontiff stated in his address that many should feel “shame because our generations are leaving young people a world that is fractured by divisions and war, a world devoured by selfishness,” before adding that people should feel “shame for having lost a sense of shame”.

The Catholic leader said that even “some of your (God’s) ministers have let themselves be deceived …” as he described how the human race was losing its “worthiness.”

Increased security for the Pope

During his address, many checks were being carried out on people approaching the area where the Pope has begun a traditional ‘Way of the Cross’ procession around the Colosseum. More than 20,000 attended the address on the day of Jesus’s death by crucifixion.

The Pope was surrounded by Military jeeps and armored vehicles at the Italian capital’s historic quarter in order to protect him from possible attacks.

The Express reports Last week Italian police carried out four raids against suspected supporters of Islamist terrorism and arrested seven people, including one man who was planning a truck attack.

The pontiff, who urged the followers to rediscover the capability to feel shame for their role in the world’s ills, also praised those in the Church who are trying to arouse “humanity’s sleeping conscience” through their work helping the poor, immigrants and prison inmates.

Last night the Pope lead an Easter vigil service and today will deliver his trice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.

It has been a difficult Easter period for the Vatican which, on Thursday, slammed a well-known Italian journalist who quoted Pope Francis as saying hell does not exist.

The Vatican issued a statement after the comments spread on social media, saying they did not properly reflect what the Pope had said.

Eugenio Scalfari, 93, an avowed atheist who has struck up a friendship with the 81-year-old, met the Pope recently and wrote up a long story that included a question-and-answer section at the end.

According to Mr Scalfari’s article in Thursday’s La Repubblica, he asked the Pope where “bad souls” go and where they are punished.

He quoted the holy leader as saying: “They are not punished.

“Those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot be forgiven disappear.

“A Hell doesn’t exist, the disappearance of sinning souls exists.”

But the Vatican said the Pope did not grant him an interview and the article “was the fruit of his reconstruction” not a “faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words”.