Pope Leo 1st’s Christmas sermon criticizes the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, the harm of war to the defenseless.
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Pope Leo criticized the conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon, making an unusual appeal during a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Leo, the first US Pope, presided over his first Christmas Day mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Thursday.
He said the story of Jesus’ birth in a stable shows that God has “pitched his weak tent” among the people of the world.
“So, how can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed to rain, wind and cold for weeks?” he asked.
Leo, who was elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a quieter, more conversational style than his predecessor. In his sermons, Leo often avoids making political references.
In a recent Christmas blessing, the Pope, who has made caring for immigrants a central theme of his papacy, also spoke of the situation of migrants and refugees “traversing the American continent.”
Leo, who has criticized Donald Trump’s immigration action, did not mention the American president. In his pre-Christmas sermon on Wednesday, the Pope said that refusing to help the poor and strangers is tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Previous comments on the situation in Gaza
Pope has complained about the conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza several times recently.
He told reporters last month that the only solution to 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 bombing and military strikes, but aid groups say little aid is flowing into Gaza, where almost all of the population has been displaced.
The Pope laments the destruction caused by wars
At Thursday’s service in front of thousands in St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo also lamented the plight of homeless people around the world and the destruction caused by the wars that engulf the world.
“Frail is the flesh of a defenseless people, who try so many wars, ongoing or finished, that leave debris and open wounds,” said the Pope.
“The minds and lives of the young people who are forced to take up arms are weakened, the leaders hear the stupidity of what they are asked and the lies that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.”
Later, during the message urbi et orbi (to the city and the world) and the blessing given by the Pope at Christmas and Easter, Leo asked for an end to all world wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he spoke about conflicts, political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
Ask for international support, ‘honest’ dialogue
Leo said the people of Ukraine, when Russian troops threatened the most important defense cities in the east of the country, were “victimized” by the violence.
“May the gunfire stop and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, have the courage to engage in honest, direct and respectful dialogue.”
In Thailand and Cambodia, where border fighting is in its third week and has killed at least 80, Leo called for the countries’ “ancient friendship” to be restored “to work for reconciliation and peace.”
