Although Pope Francis of the
Roman Catholic Church could not amass a countervailing military force, he could
use his pulpit to excoriate the world’s military aggressors in moral terms.
Gone are the days when popes wielded military forces and whose threats of
excommunication and damnation could be used with effect; modern-day popes
speaking to a global audience, which includes non-Christians (not to mention
non-Catholics), must resort to moral suasion. So it is ironic that as unprovoked
military attacks on civilians have become more massive and increasingly against
the norm expected of governments, the influence of popes has decreased, both
militarily and theologically, in international affairs. Even so, Pope Francis
was able to appeal to a theological belief and value in Christianity during his
Christmas Day, 2024 public address at the Vatican. Although not in itself
enough to thwart the invasions and related crimes against humanity in Gaza
especially, but also in Ukraine, the main impact may be said to be in throwing
some light on just how antipodal Russia’s President Putin and Israel’s Prime
Minister Netanyahu were from the distinctively Christian the kingdom of God,
both as a concept and a spiritual reality fundamentally at odds with the ways
of the world. In other words, there is value in the world being able to grasp
that two degrees of separation exist between military invaders intent on
harming and killing innocent civilians and the kingdom of God as described in
the Gospels by Jesus.
The full essay is at "Pope Francis's Christmas Urbi et Orbi Message."
