Pope Pleads For The Children In Midnight Mass Ceremony & For World In Christmas Day Address
Posted December 25, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The children of the world seemed to be much on the minds of religious leaders and monarchs this Christmas.
The Queen’s holiday message centres around bridging the generation gap and Pope Benedict XVI also made an appeal to help the world’s most defenceless, vulnerable and precious commodity – the young.
“The child of Bethlehem directs our gaze toward all children who suffer and are abused in the world, the born and the unborn,” the Pope noted in his midnight mass homily at St. Peter’s Basilica, edging in a not-so-veiled reference to abortion.
His plea didn’t just cover those who were abused or sick, but children who are forced to fight for causes they don’t understand or agree with, those who must beg on the streets for the sustenance to survive another day and even youngsters who find themselves unloved or unwanted.
Using the example of Jesus’ birth as his starting point, the Pontiff made it clear that taking care of the young is everyone’s responsibility.
“Let us pray this night that the brightness of God’s love may enfold all these children,” he pleaded. “Let us ask God to help us do our part so that the dignity of children may be respected.”
Children dressed in garb from around the world brought flowers to a replica of the baby Jesus, as Benedict told worshippers to “not forget the true gift: to give each other something of ourselves, to give each other something of our time, to open our time to God.”
The Midnight Mass, the 79-year-old’s second since becoming the head of the Roman Catholic Church, was broadcast from the Vatican to 44 countries around the world, including Canada.
A similar theme was extended in the Pope’s message to the world on Christmas Day.
The Pontiff urged the speedy resolution of conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa, noting that peace on earth doesn’t have to be just a dream.
“With deep apprehension I think, on this festive day, of the Middle East, marked by so many grave crises and conflicts, and I express my hope that the way will be opened to a just and lasting peace.”
He singled out the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict for special attention.
“I place in the hands of the divine Child of Bethlehem the indications of a resumption of dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which we have witnessed in recent days, and the hope of further encouraging developments,” he prayed from the balcony of St. Peter’s Square, as thousands listened.
He also noted the war in Iraq and the ongoing atrocities in Darfur. And he concluded by reminding the faithful that mankind may have progressed on a technical level, but our spiritual side still needs a saviour.
“This humanity of the 21st century appears as sure and self-sufficient master of its own destiny, the avid proponent of uncontested triumphs,” the pope warned. “Yet this is not the case. People continue to die of hunger and thirst, disease and poverty, in this age of plenty and unbridled consumerism.”
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