Joy to the world: Pope Francis kisses a statue of Baby Jesus as he celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Vatican City: Pope Francis offered a Christmas message Friday of hope for an end to the world’s conflicts, backing recent accords on Syria and Libya and praising those who shelter migrants.
“We pray… that the agreement reached in the United Nations may succeed in halting as quickly as possible the clash of arms in Syria,” he said, while urging that “the agreement on Libya be supported by all”.
Delivering his Christmas message from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, the 79-year-old pontiff touched on several other conflict zones, including Iraq, Yemen, the DR Congo, Burundi and South Sudan following a year of violence and suffering that forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The pope also decried “brutal acts of terrorism, particularly the recent massacres that took place in Egyptian airspace, in Beirut, Paris, Bamako and Tunis”.
After a year that saw more than one million migrants reach Europe, Francis praised those who shelter them, asking God to “repay all those, both individuals and states, who generously work to provide assistance and welcome” to them.
The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics also used the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address to denounce the destruction of cultural heritage.
In a clear reference to the Islamic State, he said their “atrocities… do not even spare the historical and cultural patrimony of entire peoples”. IS has launched a campaign of destruction against buildings and monuments that fall outside its harsh interpretation of Islam. AFP
