Pope Francis gives his Urbi et Orbi Christmas Day blessing (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’) from the main balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
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Gregorio Borgia/AP
Pope Francis gives his Urbi et Orbi Christmas Day blessing (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’) from the main balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis used his Christmas message on Sunday to lament the “cold winds of war” ravaging humanity and offer an urgent plea for an end to immediate war. fighting in Ukrainea 10-month conflict that he criticized as “meaningless”.
At noon local time, Pope Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “‘to the city and the world”) speech from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. .
Tens of thousands of visitors, pilgrims and Rome residents gathered in St Peter’s Square to listen to the Pope speak and receive the blessing.
Francis also cited long-standing conflicts in the Middle East, including in the Holy Land, “where in recent months violence and confrontation have increased, causing death and injury.” In addition, he prayed for a lasting ceasefire in Yemen and reconciliation in Iran and Myanmar.
He lamented that at Christmas the “path to peace” is blocked by social forces including “attachment to power and money, pride, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.”
“Indeed, we must sadly admit that, even when the Prince of Peace is given to us, the cold winds of war continue to ravage humanity,” Pope Francis said.
“If we want it to be Christmas, the birth of Jesus and peace, let us look to Bethlehem and contemplate the face of the Child born to us,” he said. “And in that small and innocent face, let us see the faces of all the children, everywhere in the world, longing for peace.”
Pope Francis urged the faithful to remember the millions of Ukrainians without electricity or heat on Sunday because of Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure, as well as the millions of others who are living as refugees. refugees abroad or internally displaced since the 24 February invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Let us also look into the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who are spending this Christmas in the dark and cold, far from their homes due to the devastation of 10 months of war,” Germany The Holy Father said.
The Pope prayed that the Lord would “enlighten the minds of those who are able to quell the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war!”
“On this day, as we sit around a spread table, may we not take our eyes off Bethlehem, a town whose name means ‘house of bread’, but think of all the people, especially especially children, are starving while their bodies are large. daily amount of food is wasted and resources are being used for weapons.”
“The war in Ukraine has exacerbated this situation, putting the entire population at risk of hunger, especially in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa countries,” Pope Francis said.
Earlier, mines and Russian naval blockades of Ukrainian ports blocked shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, one of the world’s largest producers of grain and corn. An agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN sought to resolve the issue.
