’Tonight our hearts are in Bethlehem,’ Pope Francis appeals for peace in ongoing conflicts worldwide

예수 고향 삼킨 전쟁에 침울한 지구촌 성탄절 테러위협•시위도 But a silent night falls in Bethlehem as the war-torn Gaza Strip continues to suffer. With ongoing conflicts around the world, Pope Francis has appealed for peace and love. Ahn Sung-jin brings us the details. ’Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world. Make us believe, Lord, in the power of your love.“ As the pain of war grows across the world, not every Christmas is celebrated with festivities. Pope Francis lamented over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip as he kicked off the Christmas Eve mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica on Sunday with about 6-thousand-5-hundred people in attendance. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, resembled a ghost town with the clergy canceling Christmas celebrations for the first time. Palestinian Christians held a Christmas vigil with candle-lit hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza instead of the usual celebrations. Hours before Christmas landed in the Holy Land, Palestinian health officials stated at least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the enclave. More than 20-thousand Gazans, predominantly women and children, have been reported dead throughout the ongoing conflict. Despite the week-long truce that ended at the start of the month, ground fighting has only intensified as the war spread across the Gaza Strip, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the fight against Hamas. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russian forces fired 71 shells at southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on Sunday, killing four people and injuring nine others. The shelling left critical infrastructure such as residential areas, medical facilities and gas pipes destroyed. In a Christmas message on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his soldiers for spending Christmas on the war front. “We pray for the end of the war, we pray for victory. Darkness will finally lose, evil will lose.“ Ukraine celebrated Christmas on December 25th for the first time this year. The country sought to further distance itself from Russian tradition by no longer celebrating Christmas on January 7th as does the Russian Orthodox Church. Instead, it shifted to the Western calendar also known as the Gregorian calendar. This is the second Christmas Ukraine has faced since the beginning of its war with Russia. Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News. #Ukraine_war #Israe_Hamas_war #Christmas #Volodymyr_Zelensky #Xmas #Russia #Ukrainian_President #Gaza_war #Middle_East #Benjamin_Netanyahu #Bethlehem #Pope_Francis #Arirang_News 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-25, 18:00 (KST)