Cardinal Ladislav Nemet SVD, Christmas message 2025

Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, SVD, Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan, held a press conference on Friday, 19 December 2025, where he presented the Christmas message.

We are transmitting the message in full:

 

God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, who took on human flesh and lived among us so that we might have life in its fullness.

This is the central truth of the Christmas feast. The first step in the events of Christmas was taken by God: He sent His Son into this created world, into the material world of all that is visible. By this act, God made it known to all of us that He loves every creature on this earth.

But God has a special love for the human person — for every human being. Of all creatures, only humans have been given by God the ability to form a rational relationship with Him, with others, and to carry responsibility for the created world. And we know why: Jesus, the Son of God, became human when He came visibly among us. By appearing in a visible, human body, He elevated our created world into His divine life, making us all participants in divine reality.

This year we mark 1700 years since the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, where the Church Fathers, under the leadership of Emperor Constantine the Great, defined and affirmed the fundamental truths about God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

That Council confirmed the central truth of Christianity: that Jesus is true man and true God. However, the Council of Nicaea did more than define theological truths; it showed that unity is possible on the common foundation of the central truths of our faith, even when we differ in culture and customs. The Nicene Creed remains today a precious common treasure of all Christian Churches, expressing our deep conviction that, regardless of differences, there is communion in the search for truth.

In Serbia, Catholics live as a minority among an Orthodox majority, yet both profess the same Nicene Creed. This is the foundation of true brotherhood — built not on uniformity or sameness, but on the shared dimension of faith.

Love for one’s own culture, tradition, and confession does not lead to excluding others; rather, it makes possible a genuine exchange of differences. Only those who are faithful to their own identity and riches can share with others what is truly essential to them. Superficial equalization does not create unity — it suffocates it. Unity grows where differences are taken seriously and accepted as a gift. The Eastern and Western traditions differ in liturgical form, spiritual emphasis, and even in some disciplines; yet precisely in this lies the opportunity for mutual learning!

 

Diversity in our society should not lead to hatred or deep divisions, which we see all too often, but should instead help to build a better society where every good and value finds its place within the unity of the Serbian state. Serbia is one of the most Christian countries in Europe, with over 85% of its population publicly identifying as Christian. How great that strength would be if we lived according to the teaching of Jesus Christ, who came among us to give us the fullness of life!

Jesus united Himself with every human being, thus granting each of us the special capacity to love, to live in peace and love. Yet this fact also brings another truth: every injustice done to a person is an injustice done to Jesus, the God-Man.

As I have mentioned before, when Jesus came into this world, He embraced all creatures, the entire visible world. Part of this visible world is our earth, our common home, as Pope Francis calls our planet. Ten years ago, in his document Laudato si’ (“Praise Be to You”), he shared reflections on love for the created world, as well as on the responsibilities and tasks that humanity must take seriously as stewards of creation.

We can certainly put love for creation into practice if we do everything within our power to keep Serbia clean and ready for future generations. I was deeply struck to learn from an international organization monitoring global pollution that Serbia ranks tenth among the world’s most polluted countries — and the only European nation among the top ten.

I have spoken about this issue several times before and will continue to do so as long as necessary: it is not true that we, ordinary people, can do nothing to change this. We can — and how! Pollution begins with every irresponsible act of littering, poisoning water with chemicals, indulging in unnecessary luxury, and wasting food.

Every Christmas we hear the cry of humanity, the cry of the wounded — especially the poor, who suffer most from climate change, losing both dignity and the right to a normal life. Every Christmas is the cry of a wounded earth that waits for our caring action in the fight for the salvation of all creation.

This year, I had the opportunity to visit Rwanda in Africa. Africa is a continent of hope. Religion in Africa, in almost all its forms, shapes daily life. Christian faith, with its communal character and its social, humanitarian, and educational initiatives, finds especially fertile soil there. The life, religious practice, and dynamism of African Christians should serve as an example and challenge to all discouraged, melancholic, and disheartened European Catholics and Christians (including ours in Serbia): Christian faith can and should be a source of joy, strength, and hope for a better life.

For the coming Christmas season, this is precisely what I wish for all of you, dear Catholics, Christians, and all people of goodwill: may you find joy — true joy — and hope in life, in every moment of your existence. Let us love and respect all people, appreciate and care for our common home — this created world in which we live.

 

I wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

 

Ladislav Nemet SVD

Cardinal, archbishop of Belgrade