THE Pope Francis urged people today to spend less on Christmas holidays and presents this year and to send the money they save to the Ukrainians to help them cope with hunger and cold in winter.
The pope, who has made appeals for Ukraine at almost every public event since Russia invaded the neighboring country in February, made the appeal speaking off-text during Wednesday’s routine general audience.
“Brothers and sisters, I tell you, there is such suffering in Ukraine, so much,” he said, adding that he would like to draw attention to the particular problems Ukrainians will face in the coming months.
“It’s nice to celebrate Christmas, but let’s reduce the level of Christmas spending. Let’s have a humbler Christmas, with humbler gifts, and let’s send what we save to the Ukrainian people, who need it,” Francis suggested, prompting applause from the gathered faithful.
“They suffer so much, they are hungry, cold and many die because there are not enough doctors and nurses.”
The comments by the head of the Roman Catholic Church come as millions of civilians living through Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II face power, heating and water cuts caused by Russian attacks on infrastructure as temperatures fall below from scratch.
“We should not forget. Christmas, yes. In peace with the Lord, yes. But with Ukrainians in our hearts. Let’s do this particular gesture for them”he said.
Francis spoke on the same day that the Ukrainian Catholic church in Rome, Hagia Sophia, made a fresh appeal to Italians to donate clothes and medicine that volunteers have been transporting to Ukraine in trucks since March.
Source: News Beast
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