Francis to Curia: "Gaza Is Not a War. It Is Cruelty, Death and Destruction"

Francis gave his his traditional Christmas address to the Roman Curia today. In recent years, the speech has been a long and tedious tirade against his audience.

This year, he softened his tone. In preparing the speech, he had "thought about speaking well of others and not speaking badly of them".

He began with the war in the Holy Land, mentioning that the Patriarch of Jerusalem was not allowed into Gaza yesterday while "children are being bombed": "This is cruelty. This is not war."

Francis then spoke of St Dorotheus of Gaza: "Yes, precisely of Gaza, the place that today is synonymous with death and destruction, but which is a very ancient city, where monasteries and luminous figures of saints and teachers flourished in the first centuries of Christianity."

Francis suggested that we learn from Dorotheus to accuse ourselves, and not to speak ill of our neighbour. He quoted this Saint:

"When evil befalls the humble man, he immediately blames himself, judging that he has deserved it. And he does not allow himself to reproach others or blame others. He simply bears it, untroubled, without fear, and in all tranquillity."

Speaking of the Curia, Francis mentioned a supposedly holy priest who worked in the Secretariat of State years ago. He had taped a piece of paper to the inside of the door of his room, which read: "My work is humble, humiliated, humiliating."

For Francis, this is "a slightly too negative vision, certainly, but there is some truth and good in it".

After the speech, when exchanging Christmas greetings with those present, Francis used hearing aids in both ears.

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