Pope Francis on Thursday bemoaned the
"ignoble humanitarian situation" in Gaza and said he saw the
risk of a world war rising in an New Year audience with the
Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See.
"I renew my call for a ceasefire and for the release of the
Israeli hostages in Gaza, where there is a very serious, ignoble
humanitarian situation, and I call for the Palestinian
population to receive all the necessary aid," the pope said in
an address read out by an aide.
"My hope is that Israelis and Palestinians can rebuild the
bridges of dialogue and mutual trust, starting with the
youngest, so that the coming generations may live side by side
in the two States, in peace and security, and so that Jerusalem
may be the 'city of encounter', where Christians, Jews and
Muslims live together in harmony and respect".
He said that the job of "diplomacy is to foster dialogue with
all, faced with the ever more concrete threat of a world war".
The Argentine pontiff said this dialogue should include
"interlocutors considered most 'inconvenient".
"This is the only way to break the chains of hatred and revenge
that imprison and to defuse the devices of human selfishness,
pride and pride, which are the root of every belligerent will,"
he continued.
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