Reuters. In an appeal on Thursday (December 25) during the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the pope at Christmas and Easter, Pope Leo called for an end to all global wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he lamented conflicts, political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, and Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
Leo said people in Ukraine, where Russian troops are threatening cities critical to the country's eastern defences, have been "tormented" by violence.
"May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue," said the pope.
The pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his early papacy, also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who "traverse the American continent."
Leo, who has in the past criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, did not mention Trump. In a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday, the pope said refusing to help the poor and strangers was tantamount to rejecting God himself.
