Pope Francis: Peace for Jerusalem

Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and has used his Christmas message to call for a negotiated two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “ Happy Christmas! In Bethlehem, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mar. He was born, not by the will of man, but by the gift of the love of God our Father, who so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life?”

The Pontiff urged those celebrating Christmas around the world to look for Jesus “in the faces of little children” suffering in war-torn and conflict-riven regions from the Middle East to Africa to the Korean Peninsula. After praying for peace, Pope warned the faithful that “ the winds of war are blowing in our world and an out dated model of development continues to produce human, societal and environmental decline”.