Apostolic administrator Mgr Charles Scicluna said society needs to become inclusive "much in the same way as Our Lord embraced our humanity and became man, so we too must have an all-encompassing love that welcomes everyone.”

The bishop noted that on this night, the churches in Mosul, Iraq, had become prisons where there was torture, and man’s dignity was violated.

“This makes us sad, yet we must not lose heart. In our own small way, let us ask ourselves: what are we doing to make one another welcome, so that we may live in a society and a world which encourages tolerance, solidarity, authentic mercy and peace?”