War Prompts Cancelation Bethlehem Christmas

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM/BETHLEHEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Most Christmas events were canceled in the Biblical birthplace of Jesus, with authorities saying the Israel-Hamas war gives no reason to celebrate the “Prince of Peace.”

The festive lights and Christmas tree that usually decorate Manger Square were missing, and Palestinian security forces patrolled the empty square.

Yet there was an exception on Christmas Eve, with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, entering this ancient city to say Mass.

He arrived after passing through a clanking metal gate built into a high concrete wall beside an Israeli army watchtower scorched by petrol bombs and covered with graffiti.

The cardinal came in a procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the West Bank enclave to say midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity. The 6th-century basilica was built upon the grotto where these church leaders claim Jesus was born, though the Bible seems less specific.

In his homily, he spoke of “hatred, resentment, and the spirit of revenge” in our hearts. He asked the people to look for the light, which has been overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war.

Some 4,060 kilometers (2,523 miles) away, Pope Francis briefly drew attention to the beleaguered Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, condemning the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

STATUETTE OF JESUS

“Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war,” Francis said in a Christmas Eve sermon about Jesus. “By the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world.”

The pontiff presided Sunday over the evening Mass attended by about 6,500 faithful who took their place amid the splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica behind rows of white-clad prelates.

As Mass began, the ‘statuette’ of the Jesus child was unveiled before the altar, adorned in greenery and white flowers, and children representing all corners of the globe placed flowers around a gilded throne.

It was a far cry from the somber atmosphere in Bethlehem amid reports of massive clashes that the Hamas-run health ministry claimed killed scores of people in Gaza since Sunday.

The ministry blamed Israeli strikes, but Israel says Hamas is hiding its fighters, weapons, and even suicide vests for children at civilian sites, making it difficult to avoid civilian causalities.

Israel’s military has suffered too, saying Monday that the death toll of troops killed in Gaza has risen to 156 since the start of the ground invasion.

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