‘God is weeping’ – Pope Francis

In his solemn but powerful sermon last week,Pope Francis told churchgoers that “God is weeping” today because the world has rejected peace and instead chose the path of war.

He said that although the holiday is upon us, now is not the time for celebration given the tragedies of the past weeks. He called Christmas “a charade” in the aftermath of terror attacks, Reuters reported.

“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes, all decked out, while the world continues to wage war,” the Pope said during Mass at the Casa Santa Maria. “The world has not understood the way of peace. The whole world is at war.

Francis asked the faithful to pray for the “innocent victims” of these attacks.

“A war can be justified, so to speak, with many, many reasons, but when all the world as it is today, at war, piecemeal though that war may be – a little here, a little there – there is no justification,” he said.

What will be left after the war, he added, isn’t optimistic: “ruins, thousands of children without education, so many innocent victims: and lots of money in the pockets of arms dealers.”

He cautioned that Jesus has an “ugly word” for people who want or make war: “cursed.”

The Holy Father reportedly ended his homily by encouraging attendees to “ask for the grace to weep for this world, which does not recognize the path to peace.”