In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza
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Pope Leo XIV celebrating Christmas mass in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on Dec 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon on Dec 25, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day that Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Pope Leo, the first American pope
“How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked.
Pope Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a more quiet, diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons.
In a later Christmas blessing, the Pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his early papacy, also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who “traverse the American continent”.
Pope Leo, who has in the past criticised US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, did not mention Mr Trump.
In a Christmas Eve sermon on Dec 24, the Pope said refusing to help the poor and strangers was tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Pope Leo decries ‘rubble and open wounds’ of war
The new Pope has lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza several times recently, and told journalists in November that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of intense bombardment and military operations, but humanitarian agencies say there is still too little aid getting into Gaza, where nearly the entire population is homeless.
In the Dec 25 service with thousands in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo also lamented conditions for the homeless across the globe and the destruction caused by war more generally.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the Pope.
“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths,” he said.
Pope laments conflicts in Ukraine, Thailand and Cambodia
In an appeal on Dec 25 during the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the Pope at Christmas and Easter, Pope Leo called for an end to all global wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he lamented conflicts – political, social or military – in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, and Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
Pope Leo said people in Ukraine, where Russian troops are threatening cities critical to the country’s eastern defences, have been “tormented” by violence.
“May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” said the Pope.
For Thailand and Cambodia, where border fighting is in its third week with at least 80 killed, Pope Leo asked that the nations’ “ancient friendship” be restored, “to work towards reconciliation and peace”. REUTERS
