Pope Francis has asked this Sunday for “the minds of those who have the power to silence the weapons to be enlightened” and “immediately stop” the “senseless” war in Ukrainein it christmas message pronounced from the central loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica before the Urbi et Otbi blessing.
Before the tens of thousands of people gathered in the square, the Pope asked to remember “the faces of the Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who live this Christmas in the dark, out in the open or far from their homes, because of the destruction caused by 10 months of war”.
And as the shelling continued in Ukraine today, he appealed “that the Lord may make us ready to make concrete gestures of solidarity to help those who are suffering, and enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the guns and immediately put an end to this senseless war.”
“Unfortunately, it is preferred to listen to other reasons, dictated by the logic of the world. But the voice of the Child, who listens to it?”
In his Christmas message in which Francis reviews the conflicts and evils in the world, he lamented “that our time is experiencing a serious lack of peace also in other regions, in other scenarios of this third World war”.
He noted “with pain” that, “at the same time that the Prince of peace is given to us, the harsh winds of war continue to blow over humanity.”
Syria, Lebanon and Yemen
and quoted Syria “still tormented by a conflict that took a backseat but has not ended”; The Holy Land, “where during the past months violence and conflicts have increased, with deaths and injuries” and implored that “dialogue and the search for reciprocal trust between Israelis and Palestinians be resumed”
He also asked the Child Jesus “to help in particular the Lebanon, so that it can finally recover, with the support of the international community and with the strength of brotherhood and solidarity. May the light of Christ illuminate the Sahel region, where the peaceful coexistence between peoples and traditions is disturbed by clashes and violence.”
He prayed for “a lasting truce in Yemen” and go “towards reconciliation in Myanmar and Iran, so that all bloodshed stops.”
[El Papa Francisco Revoluciona el Vaticano: Menos Obispos, Más Mujeres y Los Niños, Intocables]
“A humanity insatiable of power”
These words of Pope Francisco They arrive after the night of this Saturday, in the mass of the Gallo, denounced the existence of a humanity insatiable for money, power and pleasure that devours the weakest and causes wars, during the homily held in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francisco presided over the traditional midnight mass this Saturday, which, like last year, was held at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT) but due to his knee problems remained seated to one side of the altar and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re was in charge of celebrating the Eucharist.
For this reason, it was a deacon who uncovered the image of the Child at the foot of Bernini’s canopy and incensed it, while children from various parts of the world placed flowers next to it and in Saint Peter’s Square the bells rang to announce the birth. of Jesus.
Before the 7,000 people who packed the basilica, while another 3,000 waited outside in the square, in a ceremony broadcast on Mundovisión, criticized that “after many Christmases celebrated among decorations and gifts, after so much consumerism that has involved the mystery we celebrate (…) its meaning has been forgotten.”
The Pope read his homily seated and explained the three words that the manger could inspire: “closeness, poverty and the concrete”.
“Children Swallowed by War”
Regarding closeness, the Pope affirmed “that the crib serves to bring food close to the mouth and consume it more quickly” and that “it can thus symbolize an aspect of humanity: voracity in consuming”.
“Because, while the animals in the stable consume the food, men in the world, hungry for power and money, devour their neighbors, their brothers in the same way,” Francisco said, adding: “How many wars! And in so many places, still today, dignity and freedom are trampled on. And the main victims of human voracity are always the fragile, the weak.”
“This Christmas, as happened to Jesus, a humanity insatiable of money, power and pleasure also makes no room for the little ones, for so many unborn children, for the poor, for the forgotten. I am thinking above all of the children devoured by wars, poverty and injustice”lament.
