Overview
- He told thousands in and outside St. Peter’s Basilica that he seeks an “entwaffneten und entwaffnenden” peace modeled on the Nativity, emphasizing understanding, forgiveness and unconditional welcome.
- In his World Peace Day message, he criticized the militarization of thinking, rising arms spending and religious exaltation of war, and he pressed hostile states to pursue negotiations.
- At a New Year’s Eve service, he denounced great‑power designs to seize markets, territories and spheres of influence, calling them armed strategies cloaked in hypocritical rhetoric.
- Shortly before Christmas, he appealed for a worldwide 24‑hour ceasefire to ease suffering in conflict zones.
- The appeals come as the Holy Year nears its Jan. 6 conclusion, after roughly 32 million pilgrims visited Rome, with thousands attending Vatican liturgies including about 5,500 at the Te Deum.