Pope: ‘Enough with wars and violence in the world!’

By Lisa Zengarini

“Enough with wars! Enough with violence!”: these poignant words resonated again in the Paul the VI Hall on Saturday where Pope Francis received in audience the delegations that gifted this year’s Nativity Scene and Christmas Tree to be inaugurated later this afternoon in St. Peter’s Square.

The Nativity has been crafted in the city of Grado, in the northern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, while the majestic 29-meter spruce tree comes from the forests of Ledro, in the Trentino Region.

Attending the audience were also representatives from the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Holy See on the occasion of the inauguration of the “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024″  crafted by  local artisans and displayed in the Paul VI Hall.

The tree: a metaphor of the Church

Reflecting on the towering Christmas tree, which he noted was harvested in respect of ecological principles for natural forest regeneration, Pope Francis highlighted its deeper spiritual meaning. With its interwoven old and young branches reaching skyward, he said, it serves as a powerful metaphor for the Church: “a people and a body through which the light of Christ spreads into the world, thanks to the succession of generations of believers united around a single source: Jesus.”

The Nativity is a message of humility and communion

Turning to Nativity scene displayed in Saint Peter’s Square , modeled after a traditional “casone” from the Grado Lagoon, Pope Francis, observed that these humble fisherman’s huts, built with simple materials like mud and reeds,  speak to us of Christmas, “when God became man to fully share in our poverty, building His Kingdom on earth not with powerful means but through the humble resources of our humanity, purified and strengthened by His grace.”

The Church has room for everyone

He also drew a parallel between the “batela,” the typical flat-bottomed boats used for navigating the lagoon and the Church as a vessel leading people to Christ.

Jesus cannot be reached “alone,” but together, in community, aboard that small yet great vessel that Peter continues to guide, where there is always room for everyone, as long as we come together.

No more war!

Finally, turning to the Nativity crafted in Bethlehem, Pope Francis remarked that it reminds of our brothers and sisters whosuffer the tragedy of war in the Holy Land and other parts of the world and once again invoked peace.   “Enough with  wars, enough of violence!”, he pleaded, reiterating his strong condemnation of the arms industry that thrives on war and death