Pope Francis gives his Christmas message, calling war ‘an inexcusable folly’

Pope Francis gives his Christmas message, calling war ‘an inexcusable folly’

Watching Sky News this Christmas day you can see the pope is there delivering his Christmas Day sermon at the Vatican let’s have a listen in Bethlehem amid the Deep Shadows covering the land an undying flame has been lighted today the world’s Darkness has been overcome By the Light Of God which

Enlightens every man and woman brothers and sisters let us exalt in this gift of Grace Rejoice you who have lost confidence in your C certitudes For You Are Not Alone Christ is born for you rejoice you who have abandoned all hope for God offers you his outstretched hand

He does not point a finger at you but offers you his little tiny baby’s finger in order to set you free from your fears to relieve you of your burdens and to show you that in his eyes you are more valuable than any anything else Rejoice

You who find no peace in your heart for the ancient prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled for you a child has been born for us a son given to us and he is named Prince of Peace with him according to the Scriptures it says that his Reign his peace will have no end

In the scriptures the Prince of Peace is opposed by the prince of this world who by sewing the seeds of death plots against the Lord the lover of life we see this played out in Bethlehem where the after the birth of the Savior comes the slaughter of the Innocents how many

Innocents are slatter are slaughtered in our world in their mother’s wombs in Odyssey undertaken in desperation and in search of Hope in the lives of all those little ones whose childhood has been devastated by War these are the little jesuses of today the children whose lives have been

Devastated are being devastated by War to say yes to the Prince of Peace means saying no to war and this and courageously saying no to war to every war even to the mindset of War an aimless Journey a defeat without Victors an inexcusable Folly This is war a journey without uh place to

Go a defeat without Victors an inexcusable Folly to say no to War means saying no to Arms to weapons the human heart is weak and impulsive if we find instruments of death in our hands sooner or later we’ll use them and how can we even speak of Peace when arms production

Sales and trade are on the rise today as it at the time of Herod the evil that opposes God’s light patches its plots and the shadows of hypocrisy and concealment how much violence and killing takes place amid deafening silence unbeknownst to so many people who desire not weapons

But bread who struggle to make ends meet and desire only peace have no idea how many public funds are spent on arms and yet they should know this it should be spoken about and written about so as to bring to light the interests and the profits that move the the puppet strings of

War Isaiah who prophesied the Prince of Peace spoke about a day in which one nation will not lift up sword against another Nation he he wrote of a day when people will no longer learn The Art of War but instead will beat their swords into plow shares and turn their Spears into pruning

Hooks with God’s help let us make every effort so that that day will come may it come in Israel and Palestine where war is devastating the lives of those people I embrace all of you particularly the Christian communities of Gaza the parish in Gaza and the entire Holy Land I bear in my

Heart sorrow of the victims of the Abominable attack of the 7th of October last 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 call for a solution to the desperate

Humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred and may the Palestinian question come to be resolved through sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties sustained by strong political will and the support of the International

Community brothers and sisters let us pray for peace and Palestine and Israel my thoughts turn to the people of War torn Syria and to those of longsuffering Yen I think to of the Beloved Lebanese people and I pray that political and social stability will soon be

Attained with our eyes fixed on the baby Jesus I implore peace for Ukraine let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to its embattled people so that through the support of each of us they may feel the concrete reality of God’s love may the day of definitive peace between Armenia and aan draw

Near may it be Advanced by the pursuit of humanitarian initiatives by the return of refugees to their homes in legality and security and by reciprocal respect for religious traditions and the places of worship of each Community let us not forget the tensions and conflicts that trouble the region of

The Sahel and Horn of Africa and Sudan as well as Cameroon the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan May the day draw near when fraternal bonds will be Consolidated on the Korean Peninsula by undertaking processes of dialogue and Reconciliation capable of creating the conditions for lasting

Peace May the Son of God who became a lowly child Inspire political authorities and all persons of goodwi on the American continent to devise suitable ways to resolve social and political conflicts to combat forms of poverty that offend the Dignity of persons to reduce inequality and to address the troubling phenomenon of migration

Movements from the manger the Child Jesus asks us to be the voice of those who have no voice the voice of the innocent who have died for lack of bread and water the voice of those who cannot find work or have lost their jobs the voice of those forced to flee

Their lands in search of a future better a better future risking their lives in gring Journeys and falling prey to unscrupulous traffickers brothers and sisters we are approaching the season of Grace and hope that is the Jubilee due to begin a year from now may this time of

Preparation be an opportunity for the conversion of Hearts no to war yes to peace a time to joyfully respond to the Lord’s call in the words of Isaiah’s prophecy to bring good news to the oppressed to bind up the Brokenhearted Proclaim Liberty to the captives and release to the

Prisoners these words were fulfilled in Jesus born today in Bethlehem let us welcome him let us open our hearts to him let us open our hearts to him who is the savior the prince of peace and our Holy Father will now lead us in reciting the Angelus for for

The Pope has given a Christmas day message at the Vatican, focusing on the ‘inexcusable folly’ of war.

The Pope also used his sermon at Midnight Mass to offer his solidarity with people in the Middle East – and condemn the ‘futile logic of war’.

Francis, 87, told 6,500 people inside St Peter’s Basilica: ‘Our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war’.

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