Pope Leo condemns Gaza suffering in first Christmas sermon
Pope Leo XIV has used his first Christmas Day sermon to denounce the harsh living conditions facing Palestinians in Gaza, drawing a direct link between the biblical story of Jesus’ birth in a stable and the tents now sheltering displaced families. He asked how people could not think of Gaza’s makeshift shelters, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold. Leo, the first pope from the United States, usually keeps his Christmas homilies focused on spiritual themes but made an unusually pointed appeal on the situation in Gaza this year. He has repeatedly said that any lasting solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict must include the creation of a Palestinian state. The pope noted that, despite a ceasefire agreed in October between Israel and Hamas after two years of intense Israeli military operations, humanitarian groups say too little aid is reaching […]