Pope Leo
“I appeal once again to all people of good will to respect a day of peace at least on the feast of the Nativity of the Savior,” the pope said as he answered questions from journalists as he left Villa Barberini, the Vatican News website reported.
Turning to Ukraine, where massive Russian attacks have rocked various regions in recent hours, Pope Leo said: “One of the things that really makes me very sad these days is the fact that Russia has apparently rejected the request for a Christmas ceasefire.”
The Bishop of Rome therefore reiterated his call to respect a moment of ceasefire this Christmas: “I hope that they listen to us and that there are 24 hours, a day of peace, throughout the world.”
While Leo
“I was in contact with the priest,” referring to Father Gabriel Romanelli of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. “They are trying to have a party in the middle of what remains a very precarious situation. We hope,” Robert Prevost added, “that the peace agreement moves forward.”
Regarding the United States, the Pope commented on the recent passage of a law in his home state of Illinois allowing assisted suicide for adults with terminal illnesses and a prognosis of six months or less, which will take effect in September 2026.
Leo
“We were very clear about the need to respect the sanctity of life from beginning to end. And unfortunately, for various reasons, he decided to sign this bill. I am very disappointed about it,” the Pope emphasized.
Leo XIV rested and worked in Castel Gandolfo
Like every week, the Pope spent his day of rest and work in the parish. The cheers of the people, the singing of “Merry Christmas” and other Christmas carols, and the music of the Castel Gandolfo town band greeted his farewell to Villa Barberini.
“The Lord’s Christmas is the Christmas of peace,” Pope Leo recalled in a card prepared by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household.
It conveys his first wishes for the birth of the Lord and the Jubilee of Hope. The chosen sentence comes from Sermon 26 of the first pope to bear his name, Saint Leo the Great. The image on the cover represents a mosaic made by the Italian artist Alberto Salietti (1892-1961) for the papal apartment in 1955 and completes the information about the Vatican.
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