In his traditional Christmas message in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Francis condemned the “senseless war” in Ukraine and asked to silence the weapons, international media reported.
In addition, the Supreme Pontiff called for peace in all regions of the world where there are conflicts, in a scenario that he described as “World War III.”
“May our gaze be filled with the faces of the Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who live this Christmas in the dark, in the open or far from their homes, because of the destruction caused by ten months of war,” Francis declared.
“May the Lord prepare us 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 weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we prefer to listen to other reasons, dictated by the logic of the world,” the pontiff added, noting “with pain that the harsh winds of war continue to blow over humanity.”
In this sense, Francis lamented “that our time is experiencing a serious lack of peace also in other regions, in other scenarios of this Third World War.” And he cited Syria, “still tormented by a conflict that has faded into the background 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 mutual trust between Israelis and Palestinians be resumed.”
He also mentioned Lebanon, the Sahel, Yemen, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Iran, hoping that “all bloodshed will cease.” The pope also called not to use food “as a weapon.” “All war causes famine and uses food itself as a weapon, preventing its distribution to people who are already suffering. On this day, learning from the Prince of Peace, let us all commit ourselves so that food is nothing more than an instrument of peace,” he said.
Source: International media
VTV /CP