Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters
Pope Francis has urged world leaders to put aside “partisan interests” and embrace their differences in order to bring an end to global conflicts. Addressing tens of thousands at St. Peter’s Square with a Christmas message on Tuesday, the Pontiff said his one wish this holiday season is “fraternity” among people of different nations and faiths. “Even our best plans and projects risk being soulless and empty” without fraternity, he said. “Our differences, then, are not a detriment or a danger; they are a source of richness.” He went on to call on world leaders to “work decisively” to help end conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Africa, before calling for the “bonds of fraternity uniting the Korean peninsula” to be strengthened. In the Middle East, he said, he wants more dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis so they can “undertake a journey of peace that can put an end to a conflict that for over 70 years has rent the land chosen by the Lord to show his face of love.”