Pope Francis used his traditional Christmas Day message to issue a global call for peace on Monday, starting with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Francis appeared at noon (1100 GMT) on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver the Urbi et Orbi (To the City and to the World) message and blessings.
“The winds of war are blowing in our world and an outdated model of development continues to produce human, societal and environmental decline,” Francis said.
“Christmas invites us to focus on the sign of the Child [Jesus] and to recognize him in the faces of little children, especially those for whom, like Jesus, ‘there is no place in the inn,'” he added.
The pope said he could see Jesus in the faces of children living in war-stricken zones, and from refugee or jobless families.
“Let us ask the Lord for peace for Jerusalem and for all the Holy Land,” he said. “Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties.”
Francis also mentioned conflicts in the rest of the Middle East, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ukraine, Korea and Venezuela.
The pope also recalled the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and Bangladesh, two countries he visited four weeks ago.
“It is my hope that the international community will not cease to work to ensure that the dignity of the minority groups present in the region is adequately protected,” he said.
