26 December 2023

Pope denounces weapons industry as he makes Christmas appeal for peace

Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem “is a place of sorrow and silence” this year.

Francis’ annual “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) speech typically offers a lament of all the misery facing the world, and this year’s edition was no different. From Armenia and Azerbaijan to Syria and Yemen, Ukraine to South Sudan and Congo and the Korean peninsula, Francis appealed for humanitarian initiatives, dialogue and security to prevail over violence and death.

He called for governments and people of goodwill in the Americas in particular to address the “troubling phenomenon” of migration and its “unscrupulous traffickers” who take advantage of innocents just looking for a better life.

He took particular aim at the weapons industry, which he said was fueling the conflicts around the globe with scarcely anyone paying attention.

Pope denounces weapons industry as he makes Christmas appeal for peace

“How can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?”

Pope Francis touches his forehead before delivering a Christmas  blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 25, 2023.

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