'How can we not think of Gaza?': Pope Leo calls out Palestinian suffering in Gaza in his first Christmas sermon
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'How can we not think of Gaza?': Pope Leo calls out Palestinian suffering in Gaza in his first Christmas sermon")
Pope Leo on the conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza. Photograph: (X/@MarioNawfal)
After becoming the new pope, he frequently lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza multiple times and said that the only solution to the decades-long war between Israel and Palestine must consider a Palestinian state.
Pope Leo, in his first Christmas sermon as pontiff, lashed out at the conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza, making an unusually forthright appeal during a service that is typically solemn and spiritual as Christians worldwide mark the birth of Jesus Christ.
The first American pope said the story of Jesus being born in a stable symbolised God having “pitched his fragile tent” among humanity. “How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he quested, ALJAZZERA reported.
Leo frequently lamented the conditions for Palestinians
Leo is celebrating his first Christmas after he was elected as pope in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis. He has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually avoids making any political references during his sermons.
After becoming the new pope, he frequently lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza multiple times and said that the only solution to the decades-long war between Israel and Palestine must consider a Palestinian state.
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in October following two years of heavy bombardment and military action in Gaza. However, humanitarian agencies warn that aid reaching the devastated enclave remains insufficient, with nearly the entire population rendered homeless after repeated displacement caused by Israeli strikes.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
Leo in Thursday’s service with thousands in St Peter’s Basilica also highlighted the conditions for the homeless globally and the destruction caused by the war. “Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the pope.
“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths,” he added.
