In his Christmas message Tuesday, Pope Francis appealed for peace in the Middle East’s conflict zones.
“My wish for a happy Christmas is a wish for fraternity. Fraternity among individuals of every nation and culture. Fraternity among people with different ideas… Fraternity among persons of different religions,” he said in his traditional “Urbi and Orbi” (To the City and to the World) address in Saint Peter’s Square.
The pontiff said he hoped a truce in conflict-ravaged Yemen would end a devastating war that has killed around 10,000 people since 2015 and pushed 14 million Yemenis to the brink of famine.
“My thoughts turn to Yemen, in the hope that the truce brokered by the international community may finally bring relief to all those children and people exhausted by war and famine,” he said.
The Pope also evoked the war in Syria, from where US President Donald Trump has decided to pull out some 2,000 troops in a controversial decision, insisting that ISIS been defeated.
“May the international community work decisively for a political solution… so that the Syrian people, especially all those who were forced to leave their own lands and seek refuge elsewhere, can return to live in peace in their own country,” he said.
He also said he hoped for renewed peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians “that can put an end to a conflict that for over 70 years has rent the land chosen by the Lord to show his face of love.”
– with reporting Agence France-Presse
But what will they keep busy with if they do not argue anymore. That is all they have been doing since Abraham, Sarah and Hagar …
But what will they keep busy with if they do not argue anymore. That is all they have been doing since Abraham, Sarah and Hagar …