In appealing for peace, pope cites troubled regions around world
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI used his Christmas message to the world Tuesday to say people should never lose hope for peace, even in conflictriven Syria and in Nigeria.
Marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, the 85-year-old read his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and to millions of others watching around the world.
Delivering Christmas greetings in 65 languages, Benedict used the biblical analogy of the “good soil” to underscore his view that the hope represented by Christmas should never die, even in the most dire situations.
“This good earth exists, and today, too, in 2012, from this earth truth has sprung up. Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations,” he said.
In his virtual tour of some of the world’s trouble spots, he reserved his toughest words for Syria, Nigeria and Mali.
“Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims,” he said.
“Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.”
The leader
of more than 1 billion Roman Catholics also condemned conflicts in Mali and Nigeria, where Islamist groups have waged violent campaigns.
“May the birth of Christ favor the return of peace in Mali and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians,” he said.
In Nigeria, the Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds in its campaign to impose Shariah law in the north of the country, targeting a number of churches.
In Mali, a mix of Islamists with links to al-Qaida has occupied the country’s north since April, destroying much of the region’s religious heritage. The members also have carried out amputations to help impose strict Islamic law on a population that has practiced a more moderate form of Islam for centuries.