The Pope dedicated the Midnight Mass to children who suffer "wars, poverty and injustice"

"While the animals in the stable consume the food, men in the world, hungry for power and money, devour their neighbors, their brothers in the same way. How many wars!" criticized the pontiff during the homily that he pronounced in Saint Peter's Basilica, during his tenth mass on Christmas Eve since he was elected in March 2013. "And in so many places, still today, dignity and freedom are trampled on. And the main victims of human voracity are always They are the fragile, the weak," Francis later added, in an implicit reference to the conflict that began in Ukraine ten months ago and to the rest of the open wars in the world, such as in Yemen or Syria. Thus, Francis stated that "this Christmas, as happened to Jesus, a humanity insatiable of money, who was remarkably recovered from the knee injury that last year had prevented him from leading some celebrations. In a ceremony that began at 7:30 p.m. local time, the pontiff was accompanied by 25 cardinals, 15 bishops and 200 priests from around the world who concelebrated the mass before some 7,000 people gathered inside the Basilica and another 3,000 who followed the celebration from the screens in St. Peter's Square, according to the estimate made by the Vatican. During the celebration, the Pope also sent messages to the interior of the Roman Curia, asking that the Church look towards those most in need. "We are called to be a Church that adores the poor Jesus and serves Jesus in the poor," he stated, before quoting the Salvadoran saint and martyr Oscar Arnulfo Romero. "The Church supports and blesses the efforts to transform these structures of injustice and only puts one condition: that the social, economic and political transformations redound to the true benefit of the poor," Francisco said, recalling a text by Romero. Along these lines, Francisco also maintained that "it is not easy to leave the warm warmth of worldliness to embrace the wild beauty of the Bethlehem grotto, but let us remember that it is not truly Christmas without the poor." "After two millennia from the birth of Jesus, after many Christmases celebrated among decorations and gifts, after all the consumerism that has involved the mystery we celebrate, there is a risk: we know many things about Christmas, but we forget the meaning" lamented the pontiff. The Pope's schedule of celebrations continues tomorrow at noon, when Francis will address his traditional Christmas message, in which he will review the Vatican's concern for open conflicts on a global level, and will impart the "Urbi et Orbi" Apostolic Blessing, that is, to the city ​​of Rome and the world. Meanwhile, on Monday the 26th, he will offer the Angelus from the traditional window of the Apostolic Palace.

At the end of the day, Francisco posted on his Twitter account:

And the main victims of human voracity are always They are the fragile, the weak," Francis later added, in an implicit reference to the conflict that began in Ukraine ten months ago and to the rest of the open wars in the world, such as in Yemen or Syria.