Christ is born for us! Come to save us! Those were Pope Benedict’s words to the city
and the World this Christmas Day.
As the sun shone and the bands played, the
Holy Father on the dot of 12 midday came out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica
for the traditional Urbi et Orbi message.
The Pope asked the faithful to repeat
the words “Come to save us”! in spiritual union with the many people to are experience
particularly difficult situations, people who have no voice.
Those people included
the many thousands affected by insecurity, hunger and food shortages in the Horn of
Africa. The Pope appealed to the international community during his message to continue
to offer assistance to those displaced from that region and as he put it “whose dignity
has been sorely tried”. Staying on the continent of Africa, Pope Benedict prayed also
that political stability would reign in the Great Lakes Region of Africa and South
Sudan.
The Holy Father during his message recalled the birthplace of the Christ
Child and prayed that Prince of Peace would bring stability peace and dialogue between
Israeli’s and Palestinians, an end to violence in Syria and reconciliation in Iraq
and Afghanistan. May the Lord also grant, said the Pope, “renewed vigour to all elements
of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to
advance the common good.”
2011 saw a number of natural disasters occur
in the world and Pope Benedict turned his attention to South East Asia, particularly
Thailand and the Philippines and to those who have been stricken by severe floods.
He
also prayed that the birth of Saviour would bring about shared solutions in Myanmar,
also known as Burma.
This address focusing on peace, stability and reconciliation
was followed by Christmas greetings given by the Pope given in over 65 languages including
Italian, Tamil, Irish, Arabic and Hebrew.
The Pope’s Urbi et Orbi message came
less than 24 hours after the Holy Father celebrated the traditional Christmas Eve
Mass in the splendour of St Peter’s Basilica.
Those gathered including the
faithful and members of the diplomatic corps listened as Pope Benedict told them that
the Christmas celebration had become too commercial and there was a need for people
to look to the simplicity of the occasion to discover true “joy and true light”. Listen
to Lydia O'Kane's report