Pope calls for peace in Jerusalem in Christmas address

Pope Francis calls for peace in Jerusalem in his traditional Christmas address and highlights the plight of children scarred by conflict, after urging the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics not to ignore migrants.

Addressing tens of thousands of worshipers gathered at the Vatican to hear the pontiff’s fifth “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and The World) message, Francis calls for “peace for Jerusalem and for all the Holy Land.

“We see Jesus in the children of the Middle East who continue to suffer because of growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” he says.

“Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders.

“May the Lord also sustain the efforts of all those in the international community inspired by good will to help that afflicted land to find, despite grave obstacles the harmony, justice and security that it has long awaited,” the pope says.

The pontiff also mentions other global flashpoints such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan and Venezuela, after stressing that the “winds of war are blowing in our world.”

— AFP