Pope Leo XIV has used his Christmas sermon to condemn conditions in Gaza, where Palestinians are living in flimsy tents in freezing conditions.
Leo, the first US-born Pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the world.
“How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked. He was marking his first Christmas since being elected in May by cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.
Pope Leo has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from political references in his sermons.
But he has lamented conditions for Palestinians in Gaza several times and said last month a solution to the decades-long conflict with Israel must include a Palestinian state.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of intense Israeli bombardment and military operations.
But humanitarian agencies say there is still too little aid getting into Gaza, where nearly the entire population for more than two million is homeless.
In Thursday's service with thousands crowded into St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Leo also lamented conditions for the homeless across the world and the destruction caused by war.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, continuing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the Pope.
“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.”
Later on Thursday, the Pope will deliver a twice-yearly Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) message and blessing, which usually addresses global conflicts.
Leo's message comes after Vatican’s Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told worshippers at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem that suffering in Gaza continues despite a halt in Israel's war.
“Despite the cessation of the war, suffering is still present in Gaza,” he said. “Families live in the rubble, and the future appears fragile and uncertain.”
Yet, he added, Christmas still carried a message of renewal for Gazans.
“The wounds are deep, yet here, too, the proclamation of Christmas resounds,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said. “When I met them, I was struck by their strength and desire to start over, their ability to rejoice again, their determination to rebuild devastated lives from scratch.”
The service was attended by Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh despite reports suggesting Israeli forces might prevent his arrival in Bethlehem.
Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation met officials from mediating countries in Cairo and discussed efforts to return the remains of the last Israeli hostage still held in Gaza, the Prime Minister's office said.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, all but one of the 251 hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that caused the war have been released, alive or dead, in exchange for Palestinian detainees.
The second phase poses bigger challenges: the posting of an international stabilisation force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.
