Pope Francis Christmas Message For Children Caught In Wars And COVID Vaccines For All

Pope Francis highlights the plight of children caught in wars and pleads for COVID vaccines for all.

Pope Francis has highlighted the plight of children caught up in wars, singling out victims in Syria, Yemen and Iraq in his Christmas message. “On this day, when the word of God became a child, let us turn our gaze to the many, all too many, children worldwide, especially in Syria, Iraq and Yemen who still pay the high price of war,” he said.

“May their faces touch the consciences of all men and women of goodwill so that the causes of conflicts can be addressed and courageous efforts can be made to build a future of peace,” he said.

Pope Francis also made a plea for authorities to make COVID-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that the first in line should be the most vulnerable and needy, regardless of who holds the patents for the shots.

“Vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and needy,” who should be first in line, Francis said in off-the-cuff remarks from his prepared text, calling the development of such vaccines “light of hope” for the world. “We can’t let closed nationalisms impede us from living as the true human family that we are,” the pope said.

Pope Francis will make a historic visit to Iraq in March, the Vatican said Monday, the first-ever by a pontiff and which will include a trip to the city of Mosul, a former jihadist stronghold. The pope has long spoken of his desire to visit the Middle Eastern country, where two decades of conflict have taken a heavy toll on Christian communities. The Argentinian-born pope called for peace and reconciliation in Libya and Iraq, “particularly to the Yazidis, sorely tried by these last years of war.”

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