In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza
Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Leo, the first American pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the world.
“How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked.
Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a more quiet, diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons.
But the new pope has also lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza several times recently and told journalists last month that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state.
Pope Leo XIV performs a Christmas mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on December 25
Christmas under occupation: Israeli attacks against Palestinian Christians
Once a thriving community, the number of Christians living in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza is now fewer than 50,000, according to the 2017 census, making up about 1 percent of the population.
In the early 20th century, Christians made up about 12 percent of the population.
However, Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank has squeezed communities, created economic hardships, and deprived them of the conditions needed to exist on their land, pushing many families to seek a more stable life abroad.
Most of Palestine’s Christians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, totalling approximately 47,000 to 50,000, with an additional 1,000 in Gaza before the war.
