Pope Leo XIV decries deadly antisemitic terror attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach Hanukkah event that killed 15, calling for prayers and elimination of hatred.
Newsroom (15/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) Pope Leo XIV on Monday issued a forceful condemnation of the terrorist attack that claimed 15 lives at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, declaring “Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence!” and calling on the faithful to “eliminate hatred from our hearts.”
The Holy Father’s remarks came during an audience in the Paul VI Hall with representatives of the communities that donated this year’s Vatican Christmas Tree and Nativity Scenes. As he reflected on the traditional symbols of faith and hope, Pope Leo explicitly linked the joy of the Christmas season to prayers for victims of war and violence, singling out those affected by Sunday’s massacre in Australia.
“We must pray for all those who suffer on account of war and violence, especially the victims of the terrorist attack against the Jewish community in Sydney,” the Pope said, entrusting the dead and wounded to the Lord.
The attack, carried out by a father-and-son duo armed with long guns, unfolded Sunday evening at the “Chanukah by the Sea” event organized by Chabad of Bondi. Thousands had gathered at the iconic beach for family-friendly festivities that included face painting and a petting zoo when gunfire erupted from a footbridge shortly before 7 p.m. Among the 15 killed were a child, Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an Israeli citizen, and French citizen Dan Elkayam. At least 42 others were wounded, several critically.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the assault as “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism” that struck at an location “associated with joy, associated with families gathering.” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns praised fruit-shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed one gunman, as a “genuine hero.”
Police fatally shot the 50-year-old father while his 24-year-old son was wounded and hospitalized. Authorities recovered six firearms from a property linked to the older gunman and defused two rudimentary improvised explosive devices at the scene. The older shooter was known to security services, though police said there had been no prior indication of a planned attack.
The massacre marks Australia’s deadliest shooting in nearly three decades, occurring in a country with strict gun laws enacted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Officials signaled likely reforms to firearm regulations.
Speaking before the Pope, donors from Italy’s Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno presented the Nativity Scene for St. Peter’s Square, which the Holy Father said reminds pilgrims that “God draws near to humanity, becomes one of us, enters into our history with the smallness of a child.” He described the Bethlehem stable as “a mystery of humility and love” that invites believers to “rediscover ourselves and enter into communion with God.”
Speaking in the Paul VI Hall, where a Costa Rican nativity scene entitled “Nacimiento Gaudium” — the birth of joy — now stands adorned with 28,000 ribbons symbolizing lives saved from abortion, Pope Leo entrusted the Sydney victims to the Lord and asked the faithful to pray intensely for all who suffer because of war and violence.
The Holy Father described Christmas trees and nativity scenes as “signs of faith and hope,” inviting contemplation of them to renew “the gift of peace and fraternity” in a world scarred by conflict.
Representatives from Bolzano in South Tyrol donated the 25-meter Norway spruce towering beside the creche. Pope Leo called the Christmas tree “a sign of life and evokes the hope that never fails, even in the cold of winter,” noting its lights symbolize Christ, “the light of the world, Who came to dispel the darkness of sin.”
Concluding the audience, Pope Leo expressed gratitude to Vatican workers who decorated the city’s sacred spaces and invited everyone “to allow the tenderness of Baby Jesus to illuminate our lives” and to let God’s love “remain vibrant within us” like the branches of an evergreen tree.
The Sydney attack has intensified concerns over a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Reports of assaults, vandalism, and intimidation surged more than threefold in the following year, according to the government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.
World leaders swiftly condemned the violence. King Charles III called it “the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was horrified, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated antisemitism “has no place in this world.” Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher urged prayers for the victims, invoking “Our Lady, Queen of Peace.”
As Christmas trees and Nativity scenes begin to shine across St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo’s words framed the season’s symbols of light and hope against the shadow of Sunday’s tragedy, renewing his plea for peace, fraternity, and an end to hatred.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Crux Now and Vatican News
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