Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned the “rubble and open wounds” left behind by wars, singling out the dire humanitarian scenario in Gaza as he performed his first Christmas homily.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, forsaking rubble and open wounds,” the pope mentioned on the mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
“How … can we not consider the tents in Gaza, uncovered for weeks to rain, wind and chilly,” he mentioned.
Tiziana FABI / AFP through Getty Photographs
In Bethlehem, the Christian group celebrated its first festive Christmas in additional than two years because the occupied West Financial institution metropolis emerged from the shadow of the battle in Gaza.
Heavy rains have battered Gaza in latest days — compounding the tough circumstances of the Palestinian territory’s residents, practically all of whom have been displaced through the battle.
The U.N. has mentioned an estimated 1.3 million individuals at present want shelter help in Gaza and has warned of the rising threat of hypothermia as temperatures dip.
Leo met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the Vatican final month. In response to a Vatican assertion, each leaders agreed on “the pressing want to offer help to the civilian inhabitants in Gaza” and to “finish the battle by pursuing a two-state resolution,” which might see an unbiased Palestinian state created alongside Israel.
In a Christmas blessing Thursday, Leo additionally urged Russia and Ukraine to search out the “braveness” for direct talks following weeks of intense worldwide diplomacy to finish their practically four-year battle.
“Could the events concerned, with the help and dedication of the worldwide group, discover the braveness to have interaction in honest, direct and respectful dialogue,” Leo mentioned.
In latest weeks, Russian and Ukrainian officers have spoken individually to U.S. negotiators about proposals to finish the battle began by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
