Israeli officials fear the pope’s vocal criticisms and symbolic gestures - such as this year’s nativity scene in St Peter’s Square featuring baby Jesus resting on a Palestinian keffiyeh - may influence global public opinion.
Created by Bethlehem artists Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, the nativity scene prominently features Palestinian materials, including olive wood, a symbol of Palestinian resilience.
During its unveiling, Pope Francis condemned the global arms industry for profiting from human suffering and reiterated his call for an end to all wars, urging the faithful to remember those suffering in the holy land.
The display, praised by many as a message of solidarity and peace, drew backlash from Israel’s supporters, who accused the Vatican of promoting a pro-Palestinian agenda.
He never was okay with it. He has been calling for peace since it started. People just are using the fact that he’s calling for peace talks over 2 years later as a sign he’s okay with them having done what they’ve done, when he was calling for peace last year, the year before, months after it happened and condemned the actions of the government/ political figures who led to the war.
Overall he has just been anti war. People would say that is avoiding nuisance or not casting responsibility on a specific group maybe, but unless you are looking for the Pope to call for holy wars, that’s all you can really ask for. It’s a religion. It will make money before and after the war, and no one should really care what he thinks in my opinion, because God has never stopped war in history, and never will. So why anyone assumes the someone who represents the word of God would stop war, is a strange concept.
No one is saying “God is fine with genocide in ____”. Because honestly, that would make just about as much sense to say the Pope is fine with it.