Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the “icy winds of war” buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for a right away finish to the combating in Ukraine, a 10-month-old battle he decried as “senseless.”
At midday in Rome, Francis delivered the standard “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “to the city and to the world”) speech from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
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On a sunny day, with the noon temperature reaching about 15 levels Celsius (almost 60 F), heat for a Roman winter, some 70,000 vacationers, pilgrims and residents of the town packed St. Peter’s Square to take heed to the pontiff and to obtain his blessing.
Francis additionally cited long-running conflicts within the Middle East, together with within the Holy Land, “where in recent months violence and confrontations have increased, bringing death and injury in their wake.” In addition, he prayed for a long-lasting truce in Yemen and for reconciliation in Iran and Myanmar, and cited violence and conflicts in Africa’s Sahel area.
He lamented that on Christmas, the “path of peace” is blocked by social forces that embody “attachment to power and money, pride, hypocrisy, falsehood.”
“Indeed, we must acknowledge with sorrow that, even as the Prince of Peace is given to us, the icy winds of war continue to buffet humanity,” Francis stated.
“If we want it to be Christmas, the birth of Jesus and of peace, let us look to Bethlehem and contemplate the face of the child who is born for us,” he said. “And in that small and harmless face, allow us to see the faces of all these youngsters who, in all places on this planet, lengthy for peace.”
Francis urged the faithful to remember the millions of Ukrainians who were without electricity or heating Sunday because of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, as well as the millions more living as refugees abroad or displaced within their country since the Feb. 24 invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Let us additionally see the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who’re experiencing this Christmas at midnight and chilly, removed from their houses as a result of devastation attributable to 10 months of battle,” the pontiff stated as he gestured towards these within the crowd waving small Ukrainian flags.
The pope prayed that the Lord will “enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war!”‘
Hobbled by a knee drawback, Francis leaned on a strolling follow a pronged help base to inch ahead for a greater view of the gang beneath.
The first pontiff from Latin America, he prayed that Christmas would “inspire the political authorities and all people of good will in the Americas to attempt to calm the political and social tensions experienced by various countries.”
Francis stated he was notably considering of Haiti, the impoverished Caribbean nation the place almost 100,000 folks within the capital have fled gang-related violence, in response to a current United Nations migration company report.
“On this day, as we sit around a well-spread table, may we not avert our gaze from Bethlehem, a town whose name means ‘house of bread,’ but think of all those, especially the children, who go hungry while huge amounts of food daily go to waste and resources are being spent on weapons.”
“The battle in Ukraine has additional aggravated this example, placing total peoples susceptible to famine, particularly in Afghanistan and within the nations of the Horn of Africa,” Francis stated.
Early within the battle, sea mines and a Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s ports choked off shipments from the Black Sea ports of Ukraine, one of many world’s largest producers of grain and corn. An settlement brokered by Turkey and the U.N. has sought to handle the issue.