Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican City, Pope Francis send his own message on Christmas day Monday.
He described the children dying in wars, including in Gaza, as “little Jesuses of today” and that Israeli strikes there were reaping an “terrible harvest” of innocent civilians.
Addressing thousands of people Pope Francis criticized the armaments industry, saying it ultimately controlled the “puppet-strings of war”.
The Pope who celebrated the 11th Christmas of his pontificate, called for an end to conflicts, political, social or military, in places including Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and he defended the rights of migrants around the world.
“How many innocents are being slaughtered in our world! In their mothers’ wombs, in odysseys undertaken in desperation and in search of hope, in the lives of all those little ones whose childhood has been devastated by war. They are the little Jesuses of today,” he said.
“May it (peace) come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples. I embrace them all, particularly the Christian communities of Gaza and the entire Holy Land,” Francis said.
The Pontiff lashed out the arms industry saying that more investigation should be done concerning the industry.
“And how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?” he cried out.
“I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid,” he said.
The Vatican city state , believes that only a two state solution could resolve the ongoing conflict between the two countries, while he called for “persevering dialogue between the parties, sustained by strong political will and the support of the international community”.
