In his Christmas message, the Pope calls for negotiations to end the Ukrainian-Russian war

Pope Francis has called for talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In his traditional Christmas address, the Pope said “courage was needed to open the door” of dialogue “to achieve a just and lasting peace” between the two sides.

His appeal followed a major Russian attack on energy facilities in Ukraine on the same dayin which, according to Ukraine, at least 184 missiles and drones were involved.

Earlier this year, Ukraine resolutely rejected the Pope’s call to Kiev to negotiate an end to the war and to have “the courage to raise the white flag.”

His message Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) also touched on other conflicts.

Addressing the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the 88-year-old Pope said: “Let the sound of weapons stop in war-torn Ukraine” and more.

“I invite each person and all people of all nations … to become pilgrims of hope to silence the sounds of weapons and overcome divisions,” he said.

Echoing the Christmas message he delivered last year, Pope Francis also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

“I am thinking about the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, especially in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely difficult,” he said.

He asked that “the doors of dialogue and peace be opened.”

The war in Gaza began after the territory’s rulers, Hamas, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took another 251 back to Gaza as hostages. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Earlier this week, the Pope twice described Israel’s attacks as “cruelty,” drawing sharp rebuke from Israel, which called the remarks “particularly disappointing.”

Pope Francis also said his thoughts were with the Christian communities in Lebanon and Syria, where rebels recently toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after 24 years in power. Syria’s Christian population has shrunk since the war began in 2011 and is now reportedly a tiny fraction of its pre-war total of around 1.5 million.

Syria’s minorities are expressing fears about their future in the country after Islamist rebels seized power, although the leading rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said all faiths would be protected.