He Papa Francisco He urged this Wednesday, December 25, to silence the weapons and “overcome divisions” in the world, addressing the millions of Christians who celebrate a Christmas again overshadowed by conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and other regions.
As every year in his traditional message “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world), with planetary transmission, the Argentine pontiff reviewed the main conflicts and sources of tension in the two hemispheres.
“I invite all people (…) to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the weapons and overcome the divisions,” he said before thousands of faithful in San Pedro Square. Vatican.
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Jorge Bergoglio, 88, denounced the “very serious” humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The “Holy Year” begins
The day before, Pope Francis began the 2025 “Holy Year” of the Catholic Church, for which more than 30 million pilgrims are expected in Rome.
During the mass, he invited the faithful to think about “wars, children being machine-gunned, bombs in schools or hospitals,” alluding to Israel’s bombings in Gaza.
Francis, who cited no less than 18 countries, recalled on Wednesday Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua among them, asking “to find effective solutions in truth and justice as soon as possible, to promote social harmony.”
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The Jesuit also sent a message to Ukraine, which celebrates Christmas for the second time in its modern history on December 25, and not January 7 as in the Julian calendar that governs the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Let the guns fall silent in the martyred Ukraine. “Let us have the audacity to open the door to negotiations (…) to reach a just and lasting peace,” he declared, hours after Russia launched more than 70 missiles against the Ukrainian energy network.
EAM
