Pope kicks off Christmas celebrations in shadow of war

Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories – Pope Francis has kicked off global Christmas celebrations with a call for peace, as Israel’s war on Hamas and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cast a shadow over one of the world’s favourite holidays.

Having said earlier in the day that he was thinking of people “who are suffering from war — we are thinking of Palestine, of Israel, of Ukraine”, the pope struck a sombre tone during his Christmas Eve mass.

“Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world,” the pope said.

The biblical city in the occupied West Bank, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born in a stable more than 2,000 years ago, effectively cancelled the annual Christmas celebrations that normally draw thousands of…