Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Leo, the first Pope from the U.S., presided over his first Christmas Day mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.
He said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the world.
“How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked.
Leo, who was elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a more quiet, diplomatic style than his predecessor. In his sermons, Leo usually refrains from making political references.
In a later Christmas blessing, the Pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his papacy, also spoke of the situation for migrants and refugees who “traverse the American continent.”
Leo, who has in the past criticized Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, did not mention the U.S. president. In a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday, the Pope said refusing to help the poor and strangers was tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Previous comments on situation in Gaza
The Pope has lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza several times recently.
He told journalists last month that the only solution in 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 intense bombardment and military operations, but humanitarian agencies say there is still too little aid getting into Gaza, where nearly the entire population is homeless.
Thousands were outside St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday for Christmas Eve mass, a day before the Pope’s Dec. 25 address. (Gregorio Borgia/The Associated Press)
Pope laments destruction caused by wars
In Thursday’s service before thousands in St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo also lamented conditions for people who are homeless around the world and the destruction caused by the wars roiling the world.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the Pope.
“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.”
Later, during the urbi et orbi (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the Pope at Christmas and Easter, Leo called for an end to all global wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he spoke of conflicts, political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
Call for international support, ‘sincere’ dialogue
Leo said people in Ukraine, where Russian troops are threatening cities critical to the country’s eastern defences, have been “tormented” by violence.
“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.”
For Thailand and Cambodia, where border fighting is in its third week with at least 80 killed, Leo asked that the countries’ “ancient friendship” be restored “to work towards reconciliation and peace.”
