In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon on Thursday, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon on Thursday, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had "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?" he asked.

Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world's cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons.

In a later Christmas blessing, the pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his early papacy, also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who "traverse the American continent".