Pope Francis criticized the spending of public funds on weapons and stated that people do not know how much is allocated to it and "yet, they should know!", in a harsh Christmas message in which he asked for peace for the different conflicts in the world, starting with the war in Gaza.
The Pope's Christmas message, read from the balcony of the central loggia of the façade of St. Peter's Basilica before the 'urbi et orbi' blessing, became a real plea against weapons manufacturers.
"To say no to war it is necessary to say no to weapons. Because if the man, whose heart is unstable and wounded, finds instruments of death in his hands, sooner or later he will use them. And how can we talk about peace "If the production, sale and trade of weapons increase?" asked the pope.
He lamented the many "massacres due to weapons, which occur in a deafening silence, hidden from everyone" and assured: "The people, who do not want weapons but bread, who find it difficult to move forward and ask for peace, do not know how much public funds are "They are destined for armaments. And yet, they should know!"
"Let this be talked about, let this be written about, so that the interests and benefits that pull the strings of wars are known," was the pope's call in his Christmas message.
In this message, in which Pope Francis traditionally lists the world's conflicts, he began by remembering the situation in Gaza and asked that peace "come to Israel and Palestine, where war shakes the lives of these populations."
The pope assured that he carries "in his heart the pain for the victims of the execrable attack of last October 7" although he did not mention the Islamists of Hamas and renewed his call "for the release of those who are still held hostage."
And he continued: "I beg that military operations, with their dramatic consequences of innocent civilian victims, cease and that the desperate humanitarian situation be remedied by allowing the arrival of aid."
And on the other hand, he urged "that violence and hatred not continue to be fueled, but that a solution be found to the Palestinian question, through a sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, supported by strong political will and support." of the international community".
He also implored peace for Ukraine, in Syria, in Yemen and called for social and political stability for the Lebanese people.
He called for definitive peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and for it to be favored by the return of the displaced to their homes and not to forget "the tensions and conflicts that disturb the regions of the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Sudan, as well as Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan" and "may the day come when fraternal ties on the Korean Peninsula are consolidated, opening avenues for dialogue and reconciliation."
While for the rulers of the American continent he asked for inspiration to "find suitable solutions that lead to overcoming social and political dissension, to fight against forms of poverty that offend the dignity of people, to resolve inequalities and to confront the painful phenomenon of migrations".
He also asked that we be the voice "of those who have no voice: the innocent, dead for lack of water and bread; the voice of those who cannot find work or have lost it; the voice of those who are forced to flee from own country in search of a better future, risking their lives on exhausting journeys and at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers".
"May this period of preparation be an occasion to convert the heart; to say no to war and yes to peace," Francis concluded.
