Pope Francis called for a ceasefire in conflicts around the world in his Sunday Angelus prayer ahead of Christmas, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza.
Delivering his Sunday blessing from indoors due to a cold and as a precaution ahead of a busy Christmas period, he said: “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out.
“Let us pray that at Christmas there will be a ceasefire on all war fronts, in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, throughout the Middle East and throughout the world.”
The Israeli foreign ministry, in a statement reported by AFP, said the Pope’s comments were “particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism —- a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7”.
The statement continued: “Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people.”
Francis highlighted the “battered Ukraine” that continues to be hit by attacks on cities, “which sometimes damage schools, hospitals and churches”.
He also expressed his pain thinking of Gaza, “of such cruelty, to the machine-gunning of children, to the bombing of schools and hospitals… How much cruelty”.
Francis on Saturday also criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and said his envoy had been unable to enter the territory because of Israeli bombing.
Israeli authorities on Sunday allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory’s small Christian community.
Israel says it has made great efforts to spare civilians and is only at war with Hamas, which it accuses of genocidal violence in the attack that ignited the war.
Its foreign ministry, in response to the Pope’s comments, also said “cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them”.
It added: "Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this,”
The pontiff, who turned 88 this past week, appeared in good shape on Sunday, after wheezing and sounding congested during his annual Christmas greeting to Vatican bureaucrats on Saturday.
The Vatican cited the cold temperatures outside and Francis’s strenuous week ahead in deciding to deliver his Sunday blessing indoors.
The Pope is due to inaugurate his big Holy Year on Tuesday and preside over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations in St Peter’s Basilica. On Thursday, he is scheduled to travel to Rome’s main prison to inaugurate the Jubilee there.
Francis has long suffered bouts of bronchitis, especially in winter. In 2023, he ended up in hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics. He had part of one lung removed as a young man and frequently seems out of breath, especially after walking or exerting himself.
