ISIS condemned in Christmas messages from Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of Westminster

Church leaders used their Christmas messages to condemn Islamic State today.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby branded the terrorists "a Herod of today" – and warned Christianity faces "elimination" in the Middle East , where it began.

Pope Francis used his blessing in Rome to urge the international community to crack down “unanimously” on the extremists and end "atrocities" in the region.

And the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, called for a life shaped by faith in God, with "absolutely no room at all for gratuitous violence".

Delivering his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral , Archbishop Welby accused IS of "igniting a trail of fear, violence, hatred and determined oppression".

The leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans told worshippers: “Confident that these are the last days, using force and indescribable cruelty, they seem to welcome all opposition, certain that the warfare unleashed confirms that these are indeed the end times.

“They hate difference - whether it is Muslims who think differently, Yazidis or Christians - and because of them the Christians face elimination in the very region in which Christian faith began.

“This apocalypse is defined by themselves and heralded only by the angel of death.”

He added: “To all who have been or are being dehumanised by the tyranny and cruelty of a Herod or an ISIS - a Herod of today - God’s judgement comes as good news, because it promises justice.”

Pope Francis asked Jesus to grant "consolation and strength" to "brothers and sisters who in many parts of the world are being persecuted for their faith".

They “are today’s martyrs”, he added.

Without naming IS , the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics warned that horrific acts "cause immense suffering and do not even spare the historical and cultural patrimony of entire peoples".

Cardinal Nichols used his Midnight Mass homily to say: "No to all violence against the innocent. Yes to mercy.

“If we learn those lessons, then our world and our families will be more graceful places ... and then, you and I can be protagonists of unarmed goodness."

The Archbishop hoped Christians forced to flee their homes in northern Iraq would find comfort from the Christmas story.

"I think many a Christian who's been driven from their home, who's seen family members killed, who knows of relatives who are in great distress, will draw great comfort from this feast and from the knowledge that their plight is being talked about throughout the world," he said.

Britain’s Jewish leader, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, condemned "aggressive secularism that threatens to relegate spirituality and sanctity within our society”.

He also hit out at the "shameful scourge of hatred and oppression, which remains the most pressing global challenge of our time”.

US president Barack Obama used his Christmas message to urge Americans to follow Christ's example of charity and compassion.

"Today, like millions of Americans and Christians around the world, our family celebrates the birth of Jesus and the values He lived in his own life,” he said.

“Caring for those on society’s margins: the sick and the hungry, the poor and the persecuted, the stranger in need of shelter- or simply an act of kindness."