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In the Christmas message, Pope Francis highlights the plight of children caught in wars and advocates that COVID vaccines be available to all.
Pope Francis has highlighted the plight of children caught up in war, pointing to the victims in Syria, Yemen and Iraq in his Christmas message.
“On this day when the word of God became a child, let us turn our gaze to the many, too many children around the world, especially in Syria, Iraq and Yemen who still pay the high price of war,” he said.
“May your faces touch the consciences of all men and women of good will, so that the causes of conflict can be addressed and courageous efforts can be made to build a future of peace,” he said.
Pope Francis also called on authorities to make COVID-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that those first in line must be the most vulnerable and in need, regardless of who owns the patents for the vaccines.
“Vaccines for all, especially the most vulnerable and needy,” who should be first in line, Francis said in impromptu remarks on his prepared text, calling the development of such vaccines a “light of hope” for the world.
“We cannot allow closed nationalisms to prevent us from living as the true human family that we are,” said the Pope.
Pope Francis insisted that those first in line for the COVID-19 vaccine should be the most vulnerable and in need, regardless of who has the patents for the vaccines. [Vatican Media/AFP]
He called on the leaders of nations, companies and international organizations to “promote cooperation and not competition, and seek a solution for all.”
Amid a wave of coronavirus infections this fall in Italy, Francis broke with Christmas tradition.
Instead of delivering his speech “Urbi et Orbi”, which is Latin for “to the city and to the world”, from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Square, he read it from inside a cavernous hall in the Apostolic Palace, flanked by two Christmas trees. with flashing lights.
Normally, tens of thousands of people would have gathered in St. Peter’s Square to receive the blessing and the Pope’s Christmas address.
But Italian measures to try to curb Christmas infections allow people to leave their homes at Christmas only for urgent reasons such as work, health, visiting close loved ones or exercising close to home.
The repercussions of the pandemic on his life dominated Francisco’s reflections on the past year.
“At this time in history, marked by the ecological crisis and serious economic and social imbalances that only worsened with the coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important that we recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters,” said Francis.
Fraternity and compassion apply to people “even if they are not from my family, my ethnic group or my religion,” he said.
Francis prayed that the birth of Jesus would inspire people to be “generous, supportive and helpful” to those in need, including those struggling with “the economic effects of the pandemic and women who have suffered domestic violence during these months of confinement. “.
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