Pope condemns human 'hunger for wealth and power' at Christmas Eve Mass

Pope Francis has condemned human "hunger for wealth and power" at Christmas Eve Mass in the Vatican, seemingly referring to conflicts.

"How many wars have we seen!" he said, adding that the main victims were "the weak and the vulnerable".

"I think above all of the children devoured by war, poverty and injustice," the pontiff added.

He was addressing worshippers at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Francis, 86, entered the church in a wheelchair, and sat at the site of the altar for most of the Mass on Saturday evening.

"While animals feed in their stalls, men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbours, their mothers and sisters," he said.