Christmas celebrations include global call for peace by Pope Francis
Christmas Day celebrations included a call by Pope Francis for peace and an end to terrorism, as well as a traditional holiday meal for hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq who are fighting the Islamic State.
Pope Francis wished Christmas peace for people scarred by wars and for those who have lost loved ones to terrorism. He spoke at the Vatican before an estimated 40,000 people in St. Peter’s Square and to a global audience during his traditional Christmas Day address.
He noted the "most awful recent battles" in Aleppo, Syria, which government forces recalimed from rebels last week, and called for world leaders to find a negotiated solution to Syria's civil war, which will soon enter its sixth year, according to Vatican Radio.
The pontiff also urged Israelis and Palestinians "to build together a future of mutual understanding and harmony." The likelihood of that seemed dimmer than usual in the wake of a controversial United Nations Security Council vote on Friday that condemned Israeli settlements on disputed land that Palestinians want for a homeland. The Obama administration broke with traditional U.S. policy of blocking the vote with a veto and instead abstained, which allowed it to pass.
The resolution prompted bitter attacks from Israeli officials and President-elect Donald Trump and crushed any near-term prospect for resuming long-stalled peace talks.
Francis lamented that "fundamentalist terrorism exploits even children" in Nigeria, and called for dialog and reconciliation in conflicts in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, eastern Ukraine, Myanmar, the Korean peninsula, Colombia and Venezuela.
The holiday was bittersweet for U.S. Army Specialist Alfred Daley, who helped prepare a turkey dinner for American troops at an Iraqi army base in Karamless, near Mosul.
"I'm being away from my family but I'm serving my country at the same time, you know, making sure the soldiers eat Christmas dinner, making it feel like home for everybody," Daley told Reuters.
The soldiers who filed into the festively decorated tent for a traditional meal of turkey, green beans and mashed sweet potatoes are among 5,000 U.S. troops sent by President Obama to assist and advise Iraqi forces fighting to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State.
The night before, a dozen U.S. soldiers joined about 100 Iraqi soldiers and generals at a Christmas Eve Mass in Bartella, Iraq, at a church that had been torched by Islamic State militants. The military contingent joined a show of solidarity with 300 Christians who had been bussed in for the holiday after cleaning and sprucing up the church, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II, 90, did not attend the Christmas morning church service near her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, because of a bad cold. Her absence from the service, a long Christmas ritual for the queen, has raised concerns about the health of Britain's longest-serving monarch.
“The Queen continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery,” Buckingham Palace said. “Her Majesty will participate in the royal family Christmas celebrations during the day.” Prince Philip, 95, was in attendance at the traditional Christmas service.
President Obama spent the day in Honululu playing a live-action escape game with his daughters, Malia and Sasha, at Breakout Waikiki, where they had an hour to “crack the codes” to break out of an escape room.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chair Sharon Day released a Christmas statement wishing "Merry Christmas to all!"
"Over two millennia ago, a new hope was born into the world, a Savior who would offer the promise of salvation to all mankind," they wrote. "Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King."
President-elect Donald Trump appointed Priebus White House chief of staff in his new administration.
Trump tweeted Christmas greetings Sunday to mark the holiday. Trump tweeted similar sentiments on Saturday to those who celebrate Hanukkah.