Vatican City, 26 December (H.S.): Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff elected in May 2025 as the first American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, delivered his inaugural Christmas addresses from St Peter's Basilica and Square, imploring world leaders to summon the courage for dialogue amid ceaseless conflicts.

In his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) blessing from the basilica's central loggia—reviving a tradition last observed by St John Paul II in 1994—he spotlighted Ukraine's torment, urging Russia and Ukraine, with international backing, to silence the clamour of weapons through sincere, direct and respectful dialogue.

This call resonated as U.S.-led negotiations persist without direct Moscow-Kyiv talks, following President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent overtures for demilitarised zones in Donbas.

Earlier, during the Christmas Day Mass at 10:00 a.m.—another nod to pre-1995 customs—Leo decried the fragility of war-ravaged populations, likening Christ's humble birth to God's fragile tent pitched among humanity, then pivoting to Gaza's displaced 2.1 million residents enduring winter storms in rain-lashed shelters after two years of devastation sparked by Hamas's 7 October 2023 assault on Israel.

He evoked tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold, as aid groups press Israel to expedite 310,000 tarpaulins already cleared via Cogat crossings since the October ceasefire, amid claims of no deliberate blockages. The event unfolded without incident under clear Vatican skies, drawing thousands peacefully to the square.

Leo's message spanned further strife: he beseeched restoration of Thailand and Cambodia's ancient friendship after border clashes since July—flaring despite a ceasefire, claiming at least 80 lives in three weeks—while invoking reconciliation in Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Congo, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

Framing peace as a collective duty, he invoked humility and solidarity to combat indifference, echoing his Augustinian roots and continuity with Pope Francis's emphases on migrants, environment, and the marginalised.

The address, broadcast globally, capped liturgies beginning with Christmas Eve Mass, underscoring Leo's seven-month pontificate's peace motif, as articulated in his Prefettura greeting quoting St Leo the Great: The Christmas of the Lord is the Christmas of Peace.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar