The words of Leo XIV at the Angelus on the feast of Saint Stephen: “Those who believe in peace and have chosen the unarmed path of Jesus and the martyrs are often ridiculed, pushed out of public discourse, and not infrequently accused of favoring adversaries and enemies. Christians, however, have no enemies, but always brothers and sisters.”

Today's headlines: Settler intentionally runs over Muslim Palestinian praying in the West Bank; Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib convicted of abuse of power and money laundering; Taiwan's parliament opens impeachment proceedings against President Lai; In South Korea, it will be possible to read the daily principle of the Pyongyang regime.

After two years of darkness, the city where Jesus was born lit up once again for Christmas. During Midnight Mass, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa reinterpreted the Gospel in light of the wounds of the Holy Land, in particular Gaza. He also highlighted the "great and real”" responsibility of bringing God's peace to the world. “Christmas does not distance us from history but profoundly engages”, the cardinal said.

“Jesus Christ is our peace,” said the pope in his Urbi et Orbi message, with him hatred and violence are rejected. Looking to the world, the pontiff appealed for "a future of reconciliation" in Myanmar and urged Cambodia and Thailand to rediscover their "ancient friendship." He also cited Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai who called on God to let peace “come like wildflowers, suddenly, because the field must have it”.

Celebrations are held but the mood is sober to show solidarity with the soldiers at the front while help is offered to the displaced with calls for a ceasefire. Fr Franco Legnani, a PIME missionary in Battambang Prefecture, speaks about Christmas among Cambodian Christians while war with Thailand continues. “Its effects affect everyone. The elderly say: we are back to the times of the Khmer Rouge. May the Lord grant us his peace.”

For a million Christians from the Philippines, India, and other countries, the "miracle of the Internet" now allows them to discreetly experience the celebrations and rites of their tradition in their own homes. In the fourth instalment of the AsiaNews report, we look at the people who celebrate in the "Church of the Catacombs" in the kingdom where no faith other than Sunni Islam is permitted. Presence and participation are, little by little, overcoming fear and mistrust.