Pope Leo XIV arrives at St Peter’s square ahead of the Urbi et Orbi message
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday used his first Christmas message as pontiff to call for “peace and consolation for the victims of all current wars in the world” as well as for those suffering from “injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism”.Leo echoed many of the concerns of his predecessor, Pope Francis, demanding protection for refugees, victims of climate disasters, the unemployed and the exploited. Leo called for “dialogue” in Latin America amid an escalating US naval campaign there and for better care for migrants who “traverse the American continent”. And he pushed for “respectful dialogue” in Europe as leaders seek peace in Ukraine.Leo, speaking from the same central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica where he appeared after being elected pope in May, also urged his audience to embrace a strong sense of personal responsibility. “If all of us, at every level, would stop accusing others and instead acknowledge our own faults, asking God for forgiveness, and if we would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,” he said. As with all his public utterances, Leo’s use of his influential pulpit was watched closely for comparisons with Francis, who died in April at 88. As the first pontiff from the US, Leo was also being scrutinised for how he related to his home country and its role as a global superpower. Francis was a gregarious presence on the world stage, often tangling directly with those he believed had strayed from Roman Catholic principles. In his Christmas address, speaking to the thousands gathered in the square below him in drizzling rain, Leo did not call out specific global leaders by name. But amid the Trump govt’s naval campaign off the Venezuelan coast, Leo said he hoped “those in Latin America who hold political responsibilities” would find the space to engage in “dialogue for the common good, rather than to ideological and partisan prejudices”. Leo also echoed Francis’ concerns about those most affected by the ravages of climate change, particularly those in South Asia and Oceania “who have been severely tested by recent, devastating natural disasters that have struck entire communities”.Leo said as Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus, they should remember, “He accepted poverty and rejection, identifying himself with those who are discarded and excluded.”Earlier Thursday, during a Mass, the pope urged the crowd gathered inside not to turn away from “the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold; and of those of so many other refugees and displaced persons on every continent; or of the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities.”
