Pope Leo, on Christmas Eve, says denying help to poor is rejecting God

Source: Reuters

Pope Leo, on Christmas Eve, says denying help to poor is rejecting God

By Joshua McElwee
December 24, 2025 4:53 PM EST Updated 1 hour ago

VATICAN CITY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor and strangers today is tantamount to rejecting God himself.

Leo, who has made care for immigrants and the poor key themes of his early papacy, said Jesus' birth showed God's presence in every person as the pontiff led the world's 1.4 billion Catholics into Christmas at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

"On earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other," said the pope during the solemn service, attended by about 6,000 inside the basilica.

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, is celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world's cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-christmas-eve-says-denying-help-poor-is-rejecting-god-2025-12-24/

Alternate link: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/pope-leo-on-christmas-eve-says-denying-help-to-poor-is-rejecting-god/ar-AA1SZd13