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Pope Leo XIV condemns ‘antisemitic violence’ after massacre in Sydney: ‘We must eliminate hatred’
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Pope Leo XIV on Monday condemned “antisemitic violence” in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Sydney, Australia, in which a father and son opened fire on a crowd attending a Hanukkah celebration.
The pope prayed for the victims and the “gift of peace and fraternity” this holiday season as he spoke during an audience with the donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations.
“We pray for those who suffer from war and violence, in particular today I want to entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist attack in Sydney against the Jewish community,” the pontiff said on Monday.
“Enough of these forms of antisemitic violence!” he continued. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.”
AUSTRALIA TERROR ATTACK: 16 DEAD, INCLUDING GUNMAN, AFTER FATHER-SON DUO OPENS FIRE ON JEWISH COMMUNITY
Pope Leo XIV hugs a child at the end of an audience with donors of the Christmas tree and nativity scene set up in St. Peter’s Square, in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
Leo made similar prayers in an official telegram of condolence sent to the archbishop of Sydney, Most. Rev. Anthony Fisher.
The pope prayed “with renewed hope that those tempted to violence will undergo conversion and seek the path of peace and solidarity,” according to the telegram signed by the Vatican secretary of state.
At least 15 victims were killed and dozens more were wounded in the massacre over the weekend on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where hundreds had gathered for a “Chanukah by the Sea” event celebrating the beginning of the Jewish festival. One of the gunmen was shot and killed by police while the other was hospitalized with injuries.
A man identified as Ahmed al Ahmed has been praised as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen. He was shot but is recovering in a hospital.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denounced the shooting as an act of antisemitic terrorism and vowed to strengthen the country’s already strict gun laws.
Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Vatican City State at the end of an audience with donors of the Christmas tree and nativity scene set up at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
The attack was an “act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism,” Albanese said.
Leo also issued a strong anti-abortion message during the audience with the donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations, which he described as a sign of “faith and hope.”
The pope said the evergreen fir trees donated by various Italian regions “are a sign of life and recall the hope that isn’t lacking even in the winter cold.”
He said another sign of life was reflected in the Nativity scene in the Vatican’s audience hall, which was donated by Costa Rica. It featured 28,000 ribbons representing embryos that were not aborted.
GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT
Ribbons representing lives saved from abortion according to Catholic groups are seen on Nacimiento Gaudium, a nativity scene set during an audience led by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
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“Each of these 28,000 colored ribbons that decorate the scene represent a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayer and support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in need,” the pontiff said.
Leo thanked the artist for the message affirming that “life is protected from conception.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
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World
Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’
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Greenland’s leadership is pushing back on President Donald Trump as he and his administration call for the U.S. to take control of the island. Several Trump administration officials have backed the president’s calls for a takeover of Greenland, with many citing national security reasons.
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night, according to The Associated Press. Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory and a longtime U.S. ally, has repeatedly rejected Trump’s statements about U.S. acquiring the island.
Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that the island’s “future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
“As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends,” the statement said.
TRUMP SAYS US IS MAKING MOVES TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND ‘WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT’
Greenland has rejected the Trump administration’s push to take over the Danish territory. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump was asked about the push to acquire Greenland on Friday during a roundtable with oil executives. The president, who has maintained that Greenland is vital to U.S. security, said it was important for the country to make the move so it could beat its adversaries to the punch.
“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said Friday. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”
Trump hosted nearly two dozen oil executives at the White House on Friday to discuss investments in Venezuela after the historic capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
“We don’t want to have Russia there,” Trump said of Venezuela on Friday when asked if the nation appears to be an ally to the U.S. “We don’t want to have China there. And, by the way, we don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which, if we don’t take Greenland, you can have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.”
Trump said the U.S. is in control of Venezuela after the capture and extradition of Maduro.
Nielsen has previously rejected comparisons between Greenland and Venezuela, saying that his island was looking to improve its relations with the U.S., according to Reuters.
A “Make America Go Away” baseball cap, distributed for free by Danish artist Jens Martin Skibsted, is arranged in Sisimiut, Greenland, on March 30, 2025. (Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FROM CARACAS TO NUUK: MADURO RAID SPARKS FRESH TRUMP PUSH ON GREENLAND
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“I also want to make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. Including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.
That same day, Nielsen said in a statement posted on Facebook that Greenland was “not an object of superpower rhetoric.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stands next to Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a visit to the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on April 28, 2025. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
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White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller doubled down on Trump’s remarks, telling CNN in an interview on Monday that Greenland “should be part of the United States.”
CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Miller about whether the Trump administration could rule out military action against the Arctic island.
“The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
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