The Pope announced from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican: “Our heart tonight is in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is still rejected by the losing logic of war, with the roar of weapons that prevents him even today from finding his place in the world.”
According to the Vatican, about 6,500 believers attended the mass, which the Pope presided over in the presence of religious leaders and diplomats, while hundreds of others followed it on giant screens installed outside in St. Peter’s Square.
As for the city of Bethlehem, it was abandoned by visitors this year and most Christmas celebrations were canceled due to the war.
The head of the Catholic Church had referred, during the weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday afternoon, to the conflict in Gaza, as the Israeli army intensified its bombing in the south of the Strip on Sunday.
“We are close to our brothers and sisters who are suffering from war: let us think about Palestine, Israel, and Ukraine,” he said.
Bethlehem welcomes Christmas without any signs of celebration
• The city of Bethlehem was absent from the celebrations of Christmas compared to what was usual during the past years. The Christmas tree was not placed in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity, and the scout bands did not play when the Latin Patriarch Pierre Battista Pizzaballa entered the church courtyard due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
• Instead of members of the Boy Scouts carrying musical instruments in the traditional annual march at the start of Christmas celebrations, they raised banners calling for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip.
• What was written on the banners raised by members of the scouting teams was: “Peace to Gaza and its people,” “Gaza in the heart,” “We want life, not death,” and “Our children want to play and laugh.”
• Patriarch Pizzaballa told reporters the moment he arrived at the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity, which seemed empty except for a few dozen citizens, “This is a very sad Christmas,” adding: “As we have seen, there is no atmosphere for peace because we are in a terrible war, and we express our sympathy with the people of Gaza, all The people of Gaza, and in particular the Christian community in Gaza, are suffering, and I know they are not the only ones suffering. There are more than two million people suffering from displacement and hunger in unsustainable conditions.”
• Pizzaballa continued, saying: “We are here to pray, and also not only to demand a ceasefire, but also to stop hostilities and suffering and turn the page, because violence only begets violence.”
• The Patriarch explained that “the message of Christmas is peace, not violence. A just peace for all Palestinians who have waited so long for their state and freedom.”
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2023-12-24 20:12:16
