Pope Francis called for peace in Jerusalem and “mutual trust” on the Korean peninsula in his traditional Christmas Day address “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and to the World”) from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Francis spoke of “growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” expressing his hope that the “will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states.”

Palestinians were angered with President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.  

The pope also focused on the suffering of children in conflicts, lamenting “the winds of war” blowing throughout the world, as well as a need for “mutual trust” on the Korean peninsula.

“Let us pray that confrontation may be overcome on the Korean peninsula and that mutual trust may increase in the interest of the world as a whole,” the pontiff said.

Christmas Eve Mass

During his Christmas Eve Mass on Sunday, attended by about 10,000 people inside and outside of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis strongly defended migrants, comparing them to Mary and Joseph finding no place to stay in Bethlehem, saying that faith demands that foreigners be embraced and calling for a “new social imagination.”

The pope urged the world’s more than 1.2 billion Catholics not to ignore the plight of migrants who are “driven from their land” because of leaders willingness to shed “innocent blood.”

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