Pope laments persecution of Christians

Desperate refugees, world conflicts in Francis’ prayers

Pope Francis greets tens of thousands of people gathered Wednesday to hear his Christmas Day message at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Pope Francis greets tens of thousands of people gathered Wednesday to hear his Christmas Day message at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis offered Christmas wishes Wednesday for a better world, praying for protection for Christians under attack, battered women and trafficked children, peace in the Middle East and Africa, and dignity for refugees fleeing misery and conflict around the globe.

Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “to the city and to the world”) speech from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to more than 70,000 cheering tourists, pilgrims and Romans in the square below.

In his first Christmas message since being elected pontiff in March, he asked for all to share in the song of Christmas angels, “for every man or woman … who hopes for a better world, who [humbly] cares for others.”

Among places ravaged by conflict, Francis singled out Syria, which saw its third Christmas during civil war; South Sudan; the Central African Republic; Nigeria and Iraq.

photo

AP

With the Duchess of Cambridge (top) beside her Wednesday, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II receives flowers from children after members of the royal family attended a Christmas Day service at St. Mary’s church on the queen’s royal estate in Norfolk, England.

In Iraq on Wednesday, militants targeted Christians in attacks, including a bomb that exploded near a church during Christmas Mass in Baghdad. The separate bombings killed dozens of people.

The Vatican has been trying to raise concern in the world for persecution and attacks on Christians in parts of the Middle East and Africa.

“Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted in your name,” Francis said.

Francis said he was also inviting nonbelievers to merge their desire for peace with that of believers.

The pope also prayed that God “bless the land where you chose to come into the world and grant a favorable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Francis then explained his concept of peace.

“True peace is not a balancing of opposing forces. It’s not a lovely facade which conceals conflicts and divisions,” the pope said. “Peace calls for daily commitment,” Francis said.

Francis also spoke of the lives of everyday people, especially those struggling for a better life.

Recalling the hundreds of migrants who have drowned this year while trying to reach European shores, including many close to the Italian island of Lampedusa, Francis prayed that refugees receive hope, consolation and assistance.

He added that “our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think, too, of the elderly, of battered women” and others.

In the nine months since he became pope, Francis has generated global excitement among Roman Catholics, and others, with his humble demeanor and his shift in tone from the more strident papacy of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, whose resignation in February stunned the Catholic world.

Francis has regularly attracted huge crowds in Vatican City, and almost overnight he has emerged as a major figure on the global stage, surprising many Catholics with his nonjudgmental tone on issues like homosexuality and divorce, and his focus on the plight of the world’s poor. He also has been unpredictable, telephoning ordinary people who have written him letters, embracing a badly disfigured man at St. Peter’s and making unannounced visits in Rome.

Earlier this week, Francis visited Benedict, who lives in an apartment inside the Vatican, and offered a private Christmas greeting. Last Christmas, it was Benedict who appeared on the central balcony, offering an address that had some overlapping themes with Francis’ message. Benedict, too, had called for an end to violence in Syria, while also speaking out for religious freedom in China.

In a break with tradition, the Argentine-born Francis stuck to Italian for his Christmas greetings, forsaking a custom of wishing happy holidays in dozens of languages to the crowd below the balcony.

Francis also called attention to victims of natural disasters, especially Philippine typhoon victims, while renewing his call to protect the environment, which he said was “frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity.”

HOLY LAND VISITORS UP

In the Mideast, pilgrims celebrated Christmas in the ancient Bethlehem church where tradition holds Jesus was born, as candles illuminated the sacred site and the sound of prayer filled its overflowing halls.

This year’s turnout was the largest in years in Bethlehem, and the celebrations have been marked by careful optimism amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Leaders expressed hope that the coming year would finally produce an independent state for the Palestinians.

The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, led a prayer for some 1,000 worshippers. “The whole world now is looking at Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus,” Twal said in his address, adding that the message of Jesus was one of “love and reconciliation.”

Bethlehem lies 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Entry to the city is controlled by Israel, which occupied the West Bank in 1967.

After a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000, the numbers of visitors to Bethlehem had plunged. But thanks to a period of relative calm, they have been steadily climbing in recent years.

Iskandar Salameh, an 18-year-old Palestinian, said the Christmas spirit was uniting those gathered Wednesday. “We all feel that Jesus is with us today,” he said.

In Britain, the royal family turned out in force for a Christmas church service, but the newest family member, Prince George, son of Prince William and Kate, was nowhere in sight.

Wearing an orange coat and black fur hat, Queen Elizabeth II arrived for the service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on Sandringham estate in Norfolk, accompanied by her granddaughter Zara Phillips, who is pregnant with her first child.

William and Kate arrived at the church holding hands. After missing last year while serving in Afghanistan, Prince Harry also was in attendance.

Cicely Howard said she asked about the baby when she greeted Kate outside the church. Howard told the British news agency Press Association that Kate described George as being “more interested in the wrapping paper than the presents.”

In a prerecorded Christmas message, the queen urged reflection among the distractions of the season.

The queen’s message - the latest in a royal tradition that began with a radio address by King George V in 1932 - also contemplated the role of the Commonwealth and looked ahead to the Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow next year.

The queen has made a prerecorded Christmas broadcast on radio since 1952 and on television since 1957. She writes the messages herself and the broadcasts mark a rare occasion on which the queen voices her own opinion without government consultation.

President Barack Obama stepped away from the seclusion of his quiet Hawaii vacation on Oahu for what’s become a Christmas tradition: paying tribute to U.S. troops and the sacrifices their families make during the holidays and throughout the year.

After a morning of presents and carols with their two daughters, the president and first lady Michelle Obama took a short drive to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where nearly 600 troops and their families gathered in a mess hall, half-eaten pieces of cake still on the table from Christmas dinner.

“Michelle and I know that we would not enjoy the freedoms we do if it weren’t for the incredible dedication and professionalism and work that you do,” Obama said. “The least we can do is just let you all know we’re grateful to you.”

Obama, dressed informally in dark pants and a blue shirt, called out the names of some of the military units stationed there, prompting loud whoops from the troops. He recalled speaking by phone on Christmas Eve with 10 servicemen stationed in places like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

“It was just a sampling of the incredible sacrifice that you and your families make every single day,” Obama said.

Information for this article was contributed by Frances D’Emilio, Mohammed Daraghmeh, Cassandra Vinograd and Josh Lederman of The Associated Press; and by Jim Yardley of The New York Times.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/26/2013

Upcoming Events