Pope Francis has slammed the Israel-Hamas conflict for drowning out Jesus’ message of peace with its “futile logic of war”.
Speaking during his Midnight Mass sermon, the pope offered his solidarity with the people in the Middle East.
Addressing 6,500 people inside St Peter’s Basilica, he said: “Our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world.”
He added that the “clash of arms today” prevents Jesus from “finding room in the world”.
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon from behind a military vehicle in Gaza
REUTERSHours earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to carry on fighting in Gaza, after Israel reported one of its worst days of losses since October 7.
Fourteen soldiers were killed over the weekend, bringing the total number of deceased troops to over 150.
Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said that an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Gaza yesterday has killed at least 70 individuals.
Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said many of the victims were women and children.
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In Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born, Palestinian Minister of Tourism, Rula Ma'ayah, said: “Bethlehem is celebrating Christmas with sadness and sorrow because of what's happening in Gaza and in all the West Bank, all Palestinian territories.”
Candlelit vigils and services replaced the usual celebrations in the city, where people prayed for an end to the conflict.
In the Vatican City, the Pope spoke of “the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement”.
He said that while many might find it hard to celebrate Christmas in “this world that is so judgmental and unforgiving", they should try to remember what happened on the first Christmas.
“Tonight, love changes history,” said Pope Francis, who has made numerous appeals for a ceasefire since the conflict began on October 7.
Palestinians hold a flag in the Manager Square on December 24, 2023 in Bethlehem, West Bank
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Archbishop of Canterbury wades into Israel-Hamas war with special Christmas messagePAReferring to Jesus Christ’s birthplace, which is now in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Most Rev Justin Welby said “the skies of Bethlehem are full of fear rather than angels and glory”.
Welby compared the turbulent conditions of Jesus’s birth with the modern-day plight of children in the troubled region.
In his sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, he said: “Today a crying child is in a manger somewhere in the world, nobody willing or able to help his parents who desperately need shelter. Or in an incubator, in a hospital low on electricity, like Al-Ahli (hospital) in Gaza, surrounded by conflict.
“Maybe he lies in a house that still bears the marks of the horrors of October 7, with family members killed, and a mother who feared for her life.”
Referring to Ukraine and Sudan, the Archbishop continued: “So many parts of the world seem beset with violence.”
He said that a commitment to “serving, not in being served” was needed to resolve problems of climate change, terrorism, economic inequality and “the desperation and ambitions that drive more and more to migration”.
