The world is experiencing a serious lack of peace, says Pope Francis in his Christmas message

The Pope Francisco He called for an end to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts on Sunday in his Christmas message, stating that the world is experiencing a “serious lack of peace.”

Pronouncing the tenth Christmas blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) and the message of his pontificate, he also urged people to look beyond “the false images of the holiday” and help people without home, immigrants, refugees and the poor around them seeking comfort, warmth and food.

“Let us fix our gaze on the face of the Child who has been born to us. And in that small innocent countenance we recognize that of the children who yearn for peace in every corner of the world,” he said, speaking from the central balcony of the Basilica of Saint Peterthe same place from which he first emerged as Supreme Pontiff when he was elected on March 13, 2013.

“May our gaze be filled with the faces of the Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who are living this Christmas in the dark, in the open or far from their homes, because of the destruction caused by ten months of war,” he added, addressing tens of thousands of people in the square below.

He spoke just hours after air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine and a day after kyiv said a Russian attack on the recently liberated city of Kherson killed at least five people and wounded 35 others on Saturday, in what President Volodimir Zelensky condemned as gratuitous killing for pleasure.

“May the Lord prepare us to carry out 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 warFrancis said.

The conflict in Ukraine, he argued, should not diminish concern for people whose lives have been devastated by other conflicts or humanitarian crises, naming among others Syria, Myanmar, Iran, Haiti and the African region of Sahel.

“Our time is experiencing a serious lack of peace,” he said.

The Holy Father called for the resumption of dialogue between Israelis y Palestinians in the Holy Land, the birthplace of Jesus.

This year saw the worst levels of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in more than a decade, with at least 150 Palestinians and more than 20 Israelis killed.

While many sit around “a well-laid table”, huge amounts of food are wasted daily and resources are spent on weapons, he said.

He again condemned the use of food as a weapon of war, stating that the war in Ukraine had put millions of people at risk of famine, and mentioned Afghanistan and the countries of the Horn of Africa.