The pope called for an end of the war in Ukraine, and asked people to continue paying attention to conflicts and humanitarian issues around the world.
Pope Francis lamented a „famine of peace“ in the world as he addressed the crowd gathered at St. Peter’s Square for his traditional Christmas Day speech at the Vatican.
From the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the 86-year-old pope called for an end to Russia’s „senseless“ war in Ukraine and other „forgotten“ and long-running conflicts, including the Syrian civil war and clashes between Israel and Palestine.
„Our time is experiencing a grave famine of peace,“ he said, speaking to the thousands of people gathered for Pope Francis’s 10th „Urbi et Orbi“ (to Rome and to the world) Christmas message.
„Let us see the faces of all those children who, everywhere in the world, long for peace. Let us also see the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are experiencing this Christmas in the dark and cold, far from their homes due to the devastation caused by ten months of war,“ he continued.
