Pope Leo XIV has made his inaugural Christmas Day sermon in front of a crowd in the Vatican, echoing the globe’s denouncement of the situation of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and called for the immediate cessation of armed conflicts across the world.
Speaking from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, Leo made a point by recalling the birth of Jesus at a stable in Bethlehem, a town in Judea, which is now part of modern-day Palestinian and Israeli territories.
According to the pope, such a humble nativity is an epitome of God pitching “his fragile tent” among the people of the world.
Exposed to the elements
“How… can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold,” he lamented.
The pontiff referred to recent reports of flooding and declining temperature in the embattled territory, further worsening the suffering of internally-displaced Palestinians in the two-year-old Hamas-Israel war.
Since his election to the papacy in May, Leo has been consistent in calling out the atrocities being committed against civilians in Gaza, and has repeatedly expressed support for the formation of Palestinian state.
In his Thursday address, the Catholic leader laid out his sentiments more generally.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” he told the crowd.
“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.”
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the civilian death toll in the Palestinian territory has surpassed 70,000 since the war began in October 2023, when the Hamas militant group led a surprise attack on Israel, as part of decades-long unresolved conflict, leaving over 1,000 people dead.
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End to global wars
Leo did not single out the situation in Gaza during Thursday’s celebration of the birth of Christ.
As part of the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message, and traditional Christmas blessing given by the pope, Leo called for an end to all global wars, mentioning Ukraine, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as Myanmar, among others.
For Ukraine, and its four-year-old war with Russia, the pontiff sought for silencing of weapons.
“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,” he said.
For the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, in which dozens have reportedly been killed, Leo called for restoration of “ancient friendship” and for leaders of both nations “to work towards reconciliation and peace”.
Leo has also prayed for a comfortable Christmas for the people of Myanmar, where the ongoing post-coup conflict “has inflicted great suffering and displaced so many.”
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