Pope Francis blasts the weapons industry as he makes a Christmas appeal for peace in the world

Pope Francis is denouncing the weapons industry in his Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians

ROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday blasted the weapons industry and its “instruments of death” that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians.

Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the “abominable attack” of Hamas against southern Israel on Oct. 7 and called for the release of hostages. And he begged for an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the “appalling harvest of innocent civilians” as he called for humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem “is a place of sorrow and silence” this year.

Francis’ annual “Urbi et Orbi” ("To the City and the World") speech typically offers a lament of all the misery facing the world, and this year’s edition was no different. From Armenia and Azerbaijan to Syria and Yemen, Ukraine to South Sudan and Congo and the Korean peninsula, Francis appealed for humanitarian initiatives, dialogue and security to prevail over violence and death.

He called for governments and people of goodwill in the Americas in particular to address the “troubling phenomenon” of migration and its “unscrupulous traffickers” who take advantage of innocents just looking for a better life.