On his first Christmas as pope, Leo XIV appeals for peace between Russia and Ukraine and remembers the suffering in Gaza

Pope Leo of war. The request was made during the message “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and the world”), on his first Christmas as leader of the Catholic Church. “We pray especially for the troubled Ukrainian people, that the thunder of weapons will cease and that the parties involved, with the support of the international community, will find the courage to dialogue in a sincere, direct and respectful manner”, declared the pontiff. Ukraine, invaded by Russia in February 2022, awaits a response from Moscow to an updated plan from the United States to try to end the conflict. The most recent direct negotiations took place six months ago and did not result in a truce. According to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, Washington’s plan proposes freezing the front line and creating demilitarized zones. See the videos that are trending on g1 In his homily at Midnight Mass, celebrated on Wednesday (24), in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, Leo XIV highlighted the fragility of civilian populations affected by wars. “Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, that leave behind rubble and open wounds,” he stated. The pope drew attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, after two years of war between the Hamas group and Israel, which left tens of thousands dead and forced the displacement of a large part of the population. He cited the “tents of Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold”, and recalled that hundreds of thousands of people face winter in extreme conditions. “How then can we not think about the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold; and about so many other refugees and internally displaced people on all continents, or about the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities?”, he said. Leo XIV compared the incarnation of Jesus to “a fragile tent among us” and asked how not to think about refugees, internally displaced people and homeless people in different parts of the world. “If he truly placed himself in the suffering of others and showed solidarity with the weak and oppressed, then the world would change,” the Pope said. “By becoming man, Jesus assumed our fragility, identifying himself with each one of us: with those who have nothing and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are victims of hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who flee their homeland in search of a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or travel across the American continent.” Pope Leo “There will be peace when our monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, we kneel before the humanity of the other,” he said. During the celebrations, thousands of faithful filled St. Peter’s Basilica. Later, the pope delivered the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing from a gallery overlooking St. Peter’s Square in steady rain. Leo XIV also reserved words for Latin America and for migrants who cross the continent in search of better living conditions. He asked political leaders to prioritize dialogue and the common good, without ideological or partisan exclusions. “May the baby Jesus inspire those who have political responsibilities in Latin America so that, when facing the numerous challenges, they have space for dialogue for the common good and not for ideological and partisan exclusions”, he declared after the mass. The only country mentioned by name was Haiti, for which the pope called for an end to “all forms of violence and to move forward along the path of peace and reconciliation.” Elected in May, Leo XIV celebrated his first Midnight Mass as pope on Wednesday night, in which he conveyed a message of charity and hope. *With information from Associated-Press and Agence France Presse Pope Leo

Source link