Pope condemns human greed ‘for wealth and power’ on Christmas Eve

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: Sunday, December 25, 2022

Pope Francis looks on during an exclusive interview with Reuters, at the Vatican, July 2, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Pope Francis on Saturday condemned human “hunger for wealth and power” in a speech at Christmas Eve Mass in the Vatican.

The 85-year-old appeared on a wheelchair and read a Christmas message that apparently condemns the war in Ukraine and other global conflicts.

“How many wars have we seen!” he said as quoted by the BBC.

He also added that the main victims were the weak and the vulnerable.

“I think above all of the children devoured by war, poverty and injustice,” the pontiff told worshipers at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

“While animals feed in their stalls, men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbours, their mothers and sisters,” he said.

He did not specifically mention the Russian-Ukraine war during the service.

But according to the BBC, Francis had first criticized the war in Ukraine during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion launched on 24 February.

Th Argentine will visit South Sudan in February 2023 in the company of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

They will use the ecumenical visit to appeal to the leaders of both South Sudan and Russia to bring an end to violence.