Pope Francis says Christmas is a charade after atrocities like Paris massacre

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Pope Francis: 'Christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes... it's all a charade'
He referred to Paris attacks which left 129 dead and bombing of Russian airline over Egypt, which killed all 224 on board
Pontiff added: 'God weeps. Jesus weeps'
Italy on terror alert with hundreds of extra troops on streets of Rome

By Nick Enoch for MailOnline

Published: 11:00 EST, 20 November 2015 | Updated: 14:19 EST, 20 November 2015

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The Pope has called Christmas a 'charade' during a sermon in which he reflected on recent atrocities around the world.

Among the acts of inhumanity he denounced were the Paris attacks, which left 129 dead, and the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt, which killed all 224 people on board.

Christmas festivities will seem empty in a world which has chosen 'war and hate', Pope Francis said yesterday at the Vatican.

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Pope Francis has called Christmas a 'charade' during a sermon in which he reflected on recent atrocities around the world

The pontiff said festivities would seem empty in a world which has chosen 'war and hate'. Above, a woman is evacuated from the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where 89 people were slaughtered by ISIS on November 13

Also mentioned by the Pope was the bombing of the Russian Metrojet airliner over Egypt on October 31. Above, part of the tail wreckage of the plane, which was bound for St Petersburg

'There are wars today everywhere': The pontiff reflected on atrocities which included a double suicide bombing in Lebanon, which killed at least 43 and wounded 239. Above, the aftermath of the two explosions in Burj al-Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut on November 12

'Christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes... it's all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not chosen a peaceful path,' he said in the Mass at the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

'There are wars today everywhere, and hate,' he said after the worst terror attack in French history, the bombing of the Russian plane, a double suicide bombing in Lebanon, and a series of other deadly strikes.

'We should ask for the grace to weep for this world, which does not recognise the path to peace. To weep for those who live for war and have the cynicism to deny it,' the Argentine pontiff said, adding: 'God weeps, Jesus weeps.'

The sermon threw a shadow over the start of the festive season at the Vatican, where a giant Christmas tree was unveiled.

Anti-terror police shot dead Paris massacre ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud in the Saint-Denis siege on Wednesday

Soldiers in Paris on patrol at the Christmas market on the Champs-Elysees yesterday

The 25m (82ft) high pine hails from former pope Benedict XVI's homeland, the German state of Bavaria.

The tree, which will be decorated in time for the start of the Vatican's Holy Year on December 8, will be festooned with ornaments made by children from cancer wards in hospitals across Italy.

This year's nativity scene will be made up of 24 life-size figures, sculpted from wood and hand-painted.

In a nod to Pope Francis's humble style, alongside the figures from the story of Jesus's birth will be sculptures of ordinary people, including a man supporting an elderly person in need.

Italy on the hunt for five terror suspects

Italy is looking for five terror suspects after a tip-off from the United States about possible jihadist attacks on tourist sites in Rome and Milan, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday.

The US embassy in Rome posted a security warning on its website identifying some of Italy's best-loved landmarks as 'potential targets', including St Peter's Square, La Scala and the Duomo cathedral in Milan.

It also said churches, synagogues, restaurants, theatres, and hotels in both cities could be targeted.

'Terrorist groups may possibly utilise similar methods used in the recent Paris attacks,' it added.

The FBI had provided five names to the Italian authorities but the agency did not give specific details on any plots, according to Italian media.

'Since yesterday afternoon, our security forces have been working to find five people,' Gentiloni told Rai 3 television, without elaborating.

Italy is looking for five terror suspects after a tip-off from the United States about possible jihadist attacks on tourist sites in Rome and Milan, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said yesterday

He added that Italy was already primed for the possibility of an attack.

'The minister of the interior has explained many times that we are at a very high level of alert covering symbolic sites, places where people gather, from stadiums to cathedrals, and St Peter's in particular, which were, among others, the places highlighted by the FBI,' Gentiloni said.

'We always take such signals of alarm very seriously, especially when they come from the United States.'

He stressed that the US warnings did not amount to formal advice to Americans not to travel to Italy - a step which would have serious repercussions for the country's large tourist industry - but a simple reminder of the need to be vigilant.

He also appealed to the media not to stoke public fears. 'We must not become prisoners of this alarm because that would be a gift to Daesh,' he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

Meanwhile, local media reported that Italian police had arrested two Syrians trying to travel to Malta on false passports who had pictures related to the Islamic State jihadist group on their phones.

The two men, aged 19 and 30, were apprehended at Bergamo airport near Milan late Wednesday, the reports said.

700 EXTRA TROOPS ON THE STREETS OF ROME

Italy reacted to last week's gun and suicide attacks on Paris by deploying 700 extra troops in Rome, on top of 1,300 already involved in a highly visible 'safe streets' operation.

The additional soldiers have been deployed notably on the capital's underground rail network and at major shopping centres while media reports have suggested the number of sites identified as possible targets has been increased from 90 to 150.

Extra troops have been deployed to train stations and airports while security around Pope Francis has been enhanced with additional checks on people entering the Vatican and an increased number of bodyguards on duty when he did his weekly appearance in St Peter's square on Wednesday.

Italian Carabinieri officers check a nun as she arrives to attend Pope Francis's Wednesday general audience in St Peter's square

The heightened security measures come as Rome is gearing up to host the Jubilee Year of Mercy proposed by the pontiff, which begins in December and is expected to draw millions of tourists.

The prefect of Rome, Franco Gabrielli, urged Italians to 'stay cool-headed, without however underestimating' the threats.

Italian media have, in recent months, regularly given high prominence to vague warnings from Islamic State propagandists that they will come to Rome and plant their flag on top of St Peter's.

Officials have generally played down such threats, insisting they had no knowledge of a specific or credible plot to attack Rome or the Vatican.

Italy has a smaller problem with homegrown jihadists than other Western European countries. Intelligence experts estimate only around 50 Italian residents have gone to fight with ISIS in Syria and suspected militants appear to be closely monitored.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano revealed on Tuesday that 55 suspected Islamists had been expelled from Italy since the start of the year, including four radical imams.