VATICAN (Agencies): “It pains me that the truce has been broken: this means death, destruction, misery,” Pope Francis lamented, after Sunday Angelus, concerning the the end of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement on December 1. As he was still recovering from a bronchial infection, the pope’s reflections were read aloud by Monsignor Paolo Braida, of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, while the pope sat beside him, Vatican News reported on December 3.
“Many hostages have been freed,” the pope continued, “but many are still in Gaza. We think of them, of their families who had seen a light, a hope that they might embrace their loved ones again.”
He added that “there is so much suffering in Gaza; there is a lack of basic necessities.”
He expressed hope “that all those involved can reach a new ceasefire agreement as soon as possible and find solutions other than arms, trying to take courageous paths to peace.”
…many are still in Gaza. We think of them, of their families who had seen a light, a hope that they might embrace their loved ones again
Pope Francis
Referring to the illness that kept him from attending the 28th UN Conference on Climate Change in Dubai, he assured, “I am improving.”
According to AsiaNews the pope also stressed, “Although from a distance I follow the COP28 work in Dubai with great attention. I am close,” adding that he wanted to renew his appeal so that “climate changes should be responded to with concrete political changes.”
Finally, the pope remembered the International Day of Persons with Disabilities remarking, “Welcoming and including those who experience this condition helps the whole society to become more human.” He asked that in all meeting environments—families, parishes, schools, work, sports—we learn to “value each person with their qualities and abilities” without excluding anyone.
