In his traditional Christmas message from St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis called for an end to the “senseless” fighting in Ukraine.
The 86-year-old also urged a halt to the use of “food as a weapon” and warned that the violence, which has been going on for 10 months, was making global food shortages worse.
Before saying “to the city and the world” (Urbi et Orbi), the head of the Catholic Church spoke to the tens of thousands of worshippers in St. Peter’s Square, some of whom were holding Ukrainian flags.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, he has always called for peace while criticizing the conflict and trying to keep talking with Moscow in a delicate way.
He mentioned “our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are experiencing this Christmas in the dark and cold, distant from their homes” in his speech from St. Peter’s central balcony.
“May the Lord illuminate the thoughts of those who have the authority to stop the roar of weapons and put a quick end to this senseless war, and may he inspire us to offer concrete acts of solidarity to support all those who are suffering!”
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Sadly, he continued, “we prefer to hear other counsel, dictated by worldly ways of thinking.” “The icy winds of conflict continue to batter humanity.”
“Our time is seeing a catastrophic lack of peace,” he said, referring to both other countries and the Third World War.
He talked about Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon, Haiti, and Myanmar, all of which were having trouble this Christmas because of war or other disasters.
For the first time, he also advocated for “reconciliation” in Iran, which has been shaken for the past three months by rallies led by women.
Additionally, the pope exhorted people who were celebrating Christmas to think of everyone who “goes hungry while resources are being squandered on weaponry and large amounts of food are wasted daily.”
In particular in Afghanistan and the nations of the Horn of Africa, he said, “the war in Ukraine has worsened this situation and put entire peoples at risk of famine.”
“We know that every conflict makes hunger worse and uses food as a weapon, making it hard to get food to people who already need it.”
“Let’s commit to making food a tool of peace today by learning from the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, and starting with those who have political power.”
