Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas Message on Wednesday called on “all people of all nations” to find courage this Holy Year “to silence the noise of weapons and overcome divisions” that plague the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, from Africa to Asia.
The Pope’s address “Urbi et Orbi” – “To the City and the World” – serves as a summary of the hardships facing the world this year. Since Christmas coincided with the start of the Holy Year 2025 celebrations, which he dedicated to hope, Francis called for comprehensive reconciliation, “even (with) our enemies.”
“I invite every individual and all people of all nations … to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the noise of weapons and to overcome divisions,” the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the crowds below.
The Pope invoked the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which he opened on Christmas Eve to kick off the 2025 Jubilee, as a symbol of God’s mercy that “unties every knot; it tears down every wall of separation; it drives out hatred and the spirit of revenge.”
He called for silencing the guns in war-torn Ukraine and the Middle East, highlighting Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, “particularly in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely serious.” , as well as in Lebanon and Syria at this extremely sensitive time.”
Francis reiterated his calls for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas from Israel on October 7, 2023.
He cited a deadly measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the suffering of people in Myanmar forced to leave their homes by “the ongoing armed struggle.” The Pope also remembered children suffering from war and hunger, old people living in loneliness, people fleeing their homes, those who have lost their jobs and are persecuted because of their faith.
Pilgrims lined up to pass through the large Holy Door at the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day, as the anniversary is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful to Rome.
Passage through the Holy Door is a way for the faithful to obtain indulgences or forgiveness of their sins during a jubilee, a quarter-century tradition that dates back to the 1300s.
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Pilgrims underwent security checks before entering the Holy Door amid fresh security fears after a deadly attack on a Christmas market in Germany. Many stopped, touched the door as they passed and crossed themselves as they entered the basilica dedicated to St. Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.
“You feel so humbled when you walk through the door that it’s almost like a release, a release of emotions,” said Blanca Martin, a pilgrim from San Diego. “…It’s almost like a release of emotions, you feel like you’re now able to let go and put everything in the hands of God. See, I’m getting emotional. It’s just a nice experience.”
A Chrismukkah miracle as Hanukkah and Christmas coincide
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day festival of lights, begins on Christmas Day this year, which has only happened four times since 1900.
The calendar’s confluence has inspired some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as a Hanukkah party hosted by several Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, last week that brought together members of the city’s Latino and Jewish communities for latkes , the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah, topped with guacamole and salsa.
While Hanukkah is intended as a happy, solemn holiday, rabbis note that it comes this year as wars rage in the Middle East and fears grow about widespread incidents of anti-Semitism. The holidays rarely overlap because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and does not agree with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on December 25th. The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.
Iraqi Christians remain true to their faith
Christians in the Nineveh Plains attended Christmas Mass at Mar Georgis Church in central Telaskaf, Iraq, on Tuesday, amid security concerns about the future. “We have the feeling that they will pull the rug out from under us at any time. Our fate here is unknown,” said Bayda Nadhim, a resident of Telaskaf.
Christians in Iraq, whose presence there dates back almost to the time of Christ, belong to a range of rites and denominations. They once represented a sizeable minority in Iraq, estimated to number around 1.4 million.
But the community has steadily dwindled since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and in 2014, when the Islamic State militant group swept through the area. The exact number of Christians remaining in Iraq is unclear, but it is believed to be several hundred thousand.
German celebrations dampened by market attack
German celebrations were marred on Friday by a car attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg that killed five people, including a 9-year-old boy, and injured 200 people. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his recorded Christmas speech on the occasion of the attack and said: “There is sadness, pain, horror and incomprehension about what happened in Magdeburg.” He called on the Germans to “stand together” and that “hate and Violence should not have the last word.”
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor, who had been working as a doctor in Germany since 2006, was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. The suspect’s X account describes him as a former Muslim and is full of anti-Islamic themes. He criticized authorities for failing to combat “the Islamization of Germany” and expressed support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem, Rashid Yehya in Teleskaf, Iraq and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report.
&Copy 2024 The Canadian Press
