Pope Francis dedicates Christmas speech to dialogue and asks God to avoid conflict in Ukraine

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Pope Francis, in his traditional Christmas message delivered this Saturday (25), lamented what he described as an increase in polarization in personal relationships and also in geopolitics and said that only dialogue can resolve conflicts ranging from family quarrels to threats of war.

The pontiff urged citizens and world leaders to talk to each other, rather than refusing to dialogue, as has been the case — a move he said was exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. “Our ability to dialogue is going through severe trials,” Francis said from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

“At the international level, there are also risks in bypassing dialogue,” he continued. “The risk that this complex crisis will lead us to take shortcuts instead of taking the longer paths of conversation, which alone can lead to conflict resolution and lasting benefits for all.”

The pope, who turned 85 last week on December 17, listed conflicts and social crises in countries such as Syria, Yemen, Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine and Sudan, territories that are either facing civil wars or they are at odds with each other or are under constant threat of war.

“We are so used to these conflicts that immense tragedies are now passing by in silence,” Francis said, speaking from the same balcony where he first appeared as pope after being elected in 2013. “We run the risk of not hearing the cry of pain and anguish of so many of our brothers and sisters,” he concluded.

One of the conflicts received special mention from the pontiff: Ukraine. Francis asked God to prevent further developments from the long-lasting crisis in the eastern European country that accuses Russia of mustering tens of thousands of soldiers at the border.

Moscow, for its part, denies having planned any attack and accuses Ukraine and the United States — which have already said they would respond to a Russian offensive — of destabilizing behavior.

The number of people listening to the speech was exceptionally small due to restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic and the rainy and windy weather. With Covid’s cases on the rise in recent days, Italy has once again made the wearing of outdoor masks mandatory and banned concerts and public events until January 31st.

The Pope asked God to bring serenity and unity to families, praising those who strive to keep the family and community nuclei united. He used the word “dialogue” 11 times throughout the speech, which included reading just over two pages to faithful who watched grouped with umbrellas.

The situation of migrants, refugees, displaced people, political prisoners and women victims of gender-based violence was also present in Francisco’s Christmas speech, which asked that people not be indifferent and show solidarity with these groups.

After bringing the climate emergency debate into the Catholic Church more emphatically this year, the pope also called, as he had on other occasions, for leaders to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations.

Shortly before the speech, on an official social network, the pontiff wrote: “Jesus is born close to the forgotten people on the outskirts. He comes to ennoble the excluded and first reveals himself to them, not to educated and important people, but to pastors and workers poor”.

During Christmas Eve Mass on Friday (24), the pope said that people indifferent to the poor offend God and urged everyone to look “beyond all the lights and decorations” typical of the feast to remember the most needy.

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