During the Christmas Mass for the Greek Catholics today, Pope Francis expressed his sorrow that the message of peace spread by Christ is being lost under the weight of the "losing logic of war" in the very land where he was born. Pope Francis, who is celebrating the 11th anniversary of his papacy, led an official mass on Christmas Eve at St. Peter's Cathedral, where he spoke about the conflict in the Holy Lands.
He said, "Our hearts tonight are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is still being rejected by the losing logic of war, with the roar of weapons preventing him from having a place in the world today." The remarks by the 87-year-old pope came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting deep into the Palestinian Gaza Strip after his forces suffered their largest battlefield losses in two days.
From Bethlehem, Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rola Ma'ayia said, "This year we are facing the hardest and darkest times as we live through the suffering of our people in the besieged Gaza Strip, as well as in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps in the West Bank and Jerusalem due to the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people."
In the papal mass attended by 6,500 people inside St. Peter's Cathedral, with many more watching on screens outside, the pope said the true message of Christmas is peace and love, urging people not to obsess over worldly success "and the worship of consumerism." He spoke about a human tendency throughout history to "seek power and worldly greatness, fame and glory, which measures everything by success and results and numbers. It is a world obsessed with achievements."
He mentioned that although many may find it difficult to celebrate Christmas in "this unforgiving judgmental world," they should try to remember what happened during the first Christmas. He stated, "Tonight, love changes history." The pope made numerous calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza and urged the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
