“Senseless war, God enlighten those who can silence the weapons”
The Pope, in the blessingUrbi et Orbi‘, he addressed the first thought to‘Ukraine: “Our gaze is filled with the faces of the Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who live this Christmas in the darkto the cold or away from their homesbecause of the destruction caused by ten months of war.
The Lord makes us ready to 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 immediately put an end to this senseless war! Unfortunately, we prefer to listen to other reasons, dictated by the logic of the world. But the voice of the Childwho listens to it?”
Speaking of the war in Ukraine, the Pope, in his Urbi et Orbi, also referred to the grain crisis. “Think of the people who suffer from fame, especially children, while every day large quantities of food are wasted and resources are spent on weapons. The war in Ukraine has further aggravated the situation, leaving entire populations risk of famineespecially in Afghanistan and in Countries of the Horn of Africa. Every war, we know, causes fame and exploits food itself as a weapon, preventing its distribution to already suffering populations”. The Pope then launched an appeal: “On this day, learning from the Prince of Peace, let us all commit ourselves, first of all they have political responsibilities, so that food is only an instrument of peace. As we savor the joy of being reunited with our loved ones, let’s think of the families who are most wounded by life, and of those who, in this time of economic crisis, struggle because of unemployment and lack the basic necessities of life”.
There is not only war in Ukraine because “our time is experiencing a serious lack of peace also in other regions, in other theaters of this third World warThe Pontiff cited the Syria, “still tormented by a conflict that has faded into the background but has not ended”. Then Lebanon “so that it can finally resolve itself, with the support of the international community”. Concern was also expressed for the Sahel, Yemen and for “the political and social tensions” in the American continent, “I am thinking in particular of the Haitian population who have been suffering for a long time”. The Pope spoke of “a sick world of indifference, bad disease” that does not welcome Jesus, “indeed rejects him, as happens to many foreigners, or ignores him, as we too often do with the poor. Let us not forget today the many refugees and displaced persons who knock on our doors in search of comfort, warmth and food. Let us not forget the marginalized, the lonely, the orphans and the elderly, the wisdom of a people, who risk ending up discarded, the prisoners whom we only look at for their mistakes and not as human beings,” she concluded. undress of all those”ballast” which prevent us from finding a way to peace: “attachment to power and money, pride, hypocrisy, lies. These burdens – he said she – prevent going to Bethlehem, exclude from the grace of Christmas and close access to the path of peace. And indeed, we must sadly note that, while the Prince of Peace is being given to us, the winds of war continue to blow icy over humanity”.
The Pope, in his Urbi et Orbi blessing, also mentions the tensions affecting theIran and the Burma. He hopes for these two countries “the reconciliation” to “stop all bloodshed”.