VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that Jesus’ message of peace was being drowned out by the “futile logic of war” in the very land where he was born, as the pontiff led the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas.
Francis, celebrating the 11th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke of the conflict in the Holy Land in his homily.
“Tonight, 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,” Francis said.
The 87-year-old pontiff spoke hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight deeper into the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after his troops endured one of the worst days of losses of their ground war.
And in 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.”
At the papal Mass for 6,500 people in St. Peter’s Basilica and more watching on screens in the square outside, Francis said the real message of Christmas is peace and love, urging people not to be obsessed with worldly success and the “idolatry of consumerism.”
He 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.”
Francis 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,” he said.
Francis has made numerous appeals for a cease-fire in the conflict raging in Gaza and has called for the release of all hostages held by Palestinian militant groups.
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