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“Faced with the increasingly concrete threat of world war, the vocation of diplomacy is to promote dialogue with all, even with those interlocutors who are considered ‘uncomfortable’ or who would not feel legitimized to negotiate,” the Pope said.
In his speech, the Pope emphasized that “a diplomacy of hope” is necessary. This is the only way “to break the chains of hatred and revenge that hold us captive and to defuse the mechanisms of human selfishness, pride, and arrogance, which are at the root of every warlike will that destroys,” the Pope said in his address, which was read out by one of his staff. The 88-year-old pontiff is currently suffering from a cold.
Call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip
The Holy Father once again called for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. “I ask that the Palestinian people receive all the help they need. I hope that Israelis and Palestinians can rebuild the bridges of dialogue and mutual trust, starting with the youngest, so that future generations can live side by side in peace and security in the two states and so that Jerusalem can be the ‘city of encounter’ where Christians, Jews, and Muslims live together in harmony and respect,” Francis emphasized.
The Pope also expressed concern about anti-Semitism. “The increasing anti-Semitic statements, which I strongly condemn and which are affecting more and more Jewish communities throughout the world, are a cause for great concern,” said the head of the Catholic Church.
“Sadly, we begin this year in which the world is torn apart by numerous conflicts, large and small, more or less well-known, and also by the resurgence of heinous acts of terrorism, such as those that recently took place in Magdeburg in Germany and in New Orleans in the United States,” the Pope explained. He added that “we are confronted with increasingly polarized societies in which a general sense of fear and mistrust of others and of the future festers,” the Pope said.
Pope deplores the spread of fake news
According to Francis, this is “exacerbated by the constant creation and spread of fake news, which not only distorts the reality of the facts but also distorts consciences, awakens false perceptions of reality, and creates a climate of mistrust that fuels hatred, undermines people’s security, and jeopardizes civil coexistence and the stability of entire nations.” Pope Francis then emphasized that “tragic examples of this are the attacks on the head of government of the Slovak Republic and the president-elect of the United States of America.”
The Pope also addressed the issue of abortion. “It is unacceptable to speak of a so-called ‘right to abortion,’ which contradicts human rights, especially the right to life. Life must be protected, at every moment, from conception to natural death, because no child is a mistake or guilty of existing, just as no old or sick person should be deprived of hope and thrown away,” Francis emphasized.
- source: oe24.at/picture: screenshot, orf.at
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