Pope and new Archbishop of Canterbury make pleas over Gaza and immigration in Christmas sermons

Pope and new Archbishop of Canterbury make pleas over Gaza and immigration in Christmas sermons The pontiff waves from the Vatican balcony and takes a tour of St Peter's Square as he marks his first Christmas as leader of the world's Catholics. Image:Pic: Reuters/PA Image:Dame Sarah Mullally was speaking in St Paul's Cathedral in London. Pic: PA Image:Pic: PA Image:The Pope held a the statue of Baby Jesus during at a Christmas Mass. Pic: AP Image:The Pope also took a trip in the 'popemobile'. Pic: Reuters Thursday 25 December 2025 12:34, UK The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury has warned in her Christmas Day sermon that "conversations about immigration continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us". The Pope also held a service in the Vatican in which he lamented conditions for Palestinians in and called for the "clamour of weapons [to] cease" in Gaza and other conflict zones. Ukraine Dame Sarah Mullally - the first woman to lead the Church of England in more than 1,400 years - was speaking in St Paul's Cathedral in her current role as Bishop of London. "Many feel the weight of economic pressure. Some feel pushed to the margins," said the 63-year-old. "Our national conversations about immigration continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us." Families struggle to find secure housing, she added, while "our understanding of what it means to live and die well" is being challenged by the "complexities" of assisted dying. Dame Sarah was elected in November and will legally begin her new role in January. The Pope also gave his first Christmas Day sermon in the Vatican. He said the story of Jesus's birth in a stable showed God "pitched his fragile tent" among the people of the world. "How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?" said Leo. The pontiff later toured the square in the "popemobile" before giving the traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) blessing. Speaking from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he referenced conflicts in countries such as Sudan , - and said Ukrainians in particular had been "tormented by violence". Thailand and Cambodia "May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue," said the Pope. The Archbishop of York, meanwhile, said in his own sermon that he had been "intimidated" by Israeli militias in the Holy Land earlier this year. He called the visit "sobering" and said he was "stopped at various checkpoints and intimidated by local Israeli militias who told us that we couldn't visit Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank". The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell added: "The strangers we encounter in the homeless on our streets, refugees seeking asylum, young people robbed of opportunity and growing up without hope for the future, means that we are in danger...

Preview: ~500 words