Vatican: Pope Leo has told Christians that the story of Christmas should remind them of their responsibility to help the poor, migrants, and strangers, stressing that refusing assistance to those in need is equivalent to rejecting God.
In his Christmas Eve sermon, the Pope remarked that the account of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn carries a clear lesson for believers. The Pontiff explained that denying help or hospitality to people in need mirrors the refusal faced by the Holy Family and represents a rejection of God’s presence in human life.
As he led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics into Christmas during a solemn mass at St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo highlighted that the birth of Jesus reveals God’s presence in every human being. “On earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other,” Pope Leo stated during the service, which was attended by about 6,000 people inside the basilica.
Care for immigrants and the poor has been a defining theme of Pope Leo’s early papacy. The 70-year-old pontiff, who is the first US-born pope, is celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.
During his homily, Pope Leo quoted Pope Benedict XVI, recalling the former pontiff’s lament that the modern world often fails to care for children, the poor, and foreigners. The Pontiff warned that a distorted global economy can lead societies to treat human beings as mere merchandise, contrasting this with the Christian message of Christmas, which affirms the infinite dignity of every person.
Pope Leo said that, “While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person.” The Pontiff added that when there is space for human dignity, there is also space for God, noting that even a stable can become more sacred than a temple.
Outside St Peter’s Basilica, around 5,000 people watched the Christmas Eve service on large screens set up in St Peter’s Square. Many stood in heavy rain, wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas. Before the start of the mass, Pope Leo went outside and thanked the crowd for their determination, “I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening, even in this weather.”
On Christmas Day, the Pontiff is due to celebrate another mass and deliver the traditional twice-yearly Urbi et Orbi message and blessing, addressed “to the city and to the world.”
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