Pope Francis kicked off global Christmas celebrations by lamenting that Jesus’ message of peace is being drowned out by the “vain logic of war” in the very country where he was born.
Israel’s deadliest war ever against Gaza cast a shadow as the pontiff presided over evening mass on Sunday, attended by 6,500 people at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
“Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once again rejected by the vain logic of war, by the clash of arms which, even today, prevents him from finding his place in the world,” declared the Catholic leader.
The 87-year-old pontiff said the true message of Christmas is peace and love, urging people not to be obsessed with worldly success and the “idolatry of consumerism.”
He spoke of the “all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for power and worldly might, for fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with success.
“Tonight, love changes history,” he said, draped in a white robe.
Bethlehem, the biblical city in the occupied West Bank where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born in a manger more than 2,000 years ago, has effectively canceled annual Christmas celebrations that normally attract thousands of tourists.
The city has removed its giant Christmas tree, brass bands and flamboyant nativity scene this year, making do with a few festive lights.
In the center of the city, a huge Palestinian flag was unfurled with a banner declaring: “The bells of Bethlehem ring for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
“A lot of people die for this land,” said Nicole Najjar, an 18-year-old student. “It’s really hard to celebrate while our people are dying.”
Francis spoke hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to fight deeper into the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after his troops endured one of the worst days of casualties in their ground war.
The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli attack on Sunday evening killed at least 70 people in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza and destroyed several homes.
In total, at least 20,424 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the enclave since the start of the war, according to the territory’s health ministry.
“Bethlehem celebrates Christmas with sadness and sadness because of what is happening in Gaza and throughout the West Bank, throughout the Palestinian territories,” Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maayah said.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrived at the Church of the Nativity on Sunday, dressed in a traditional black and white keffiyeh.
“Our heart goes out to Gaza, to all the people of Gaza, but with special attention to our suffering Christian community in Gaza,” he said.
“We are here to pray and to ask not only for a ceasefire, a ceasefire is not enough… violence only begets violence. »
Francis has made numerous calls for a ceasefire in the conflict raging in Gaza and called for the release of all captives.
At the end of the Christmas Eve mass, the pope, pushed in a wheelchair, walked down the basilica with the life-size statue of the baby Jesus on his lap and flanked by children carrying bouquets.
The statue was placed in a crèche in a nativity scene in the basilica.
On Monday at noon (11:00 GMT), Francis will deliver his message and blessing for Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world).