Pope Francis used his Christmas Day message, delivered before thousands of worshippers gathered at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, to call for an end to the war in Gaza and for the freeing of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The BBC reports that the pontiff also called for more aid to Gaza in order to address a ‘desperate humanitarian situation’.
The Pope said: ‘I bear in my heart the sorrow of the victims of the abominable attack of 7 October, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage.
‘I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and I call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid.’
Pope Francis also called for ‘peace for Ukraine’, and political and social stability in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen as well as other global trouble-spots, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, parts of Africa and North and South Korea.
In a more cautiously worded address, King Charles used his Christmas message to emphasise the importance of the ‘universal’ values of respecting others in the ‘Abrahamic family of religions’, which includes Judaism, Islam and Christianity, at a time of ‘increasingly tragic conflict around the world’.
Against a backdrop of conflicts in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine, he pointed to Jesus’s words: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’
King Charles also spoke of caring for the environment as being a spiritual duty.
The BBC notes that such speeches from the King need to find the balance between addressing major themes of the day, while at the same time avoiding accusations of treading into politics.
[Image: hosny salah from Pixabay]