In Christmas Day message, Pope decries Gaza’s “appalling harvest” of civilian deaths
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis said in his Christmas message on Monday that children dying in wars, including in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of today” and that Israeli strikes there were reaping an “appalling harvest” of innocent civilians. In his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and world”) address, Francis also called the […]
Icy winds of war buffet humanity at Christmas – Pope’s lament
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the “icy winds of war” buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, a 10-month-old conflict he decried as “senseless.” At noon in Rome, Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “‘to the city […]
Another COVID Christmas brings anxiety, but also optimism
AP Christmas arrived around the world Saturday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections that kept many families apart, overwhelmed hospitals and curbed religious observances as the pandemic was poised to stretch into a third year. Yet, there were homilies of hope, as vaccines and other treatments become more available. Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et […]
Islamic State releases video purportedly showing beheading of 11 Christians in Nigeria on Christmas Day
Abuja, NigeriaBosNewsLife The so-called Islamic State group has released a video purportedly showing the murder of 11 Christians in Nigeria’s Borno State on Christmas Day. In the gruesome video, one man is shot before the other 10 are beheaded. A masked man in the almost one-minute video claimed the killings were part of their recently […]
Pope defends migrants, calls for peace in Christmas message
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis urged the world to let the light of Christmas pierce the “darkness in human hearts” that leads to religious persecution, social injustice, armed conflicts and fear of migrants. In his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) Christmas Day message, the 83-year-old Pope called for peace in the Holy […]