POPE FRANCIS DEFENDS NATIVITY SCENES IN PUBLIC PLACES

ROME—POPE Francis on Sunday defended the display of Nativity scenes in town squares and other public places, which has become an annual contentious issue at Christmastime in countries such as the United States and France.

The Pope traveled to the town of Greccio, east of Rome, to visit the spot where St. Francis of Assisi started the tradition by setting up the first Nativity scene in 1223.

There, he signed a papal document known as an Apostolic Letter and titled “Admirabile

Signum,” (Wonderful Sign) on the meaning and importance of the Nativity scene.

“With this Letter, I wish to encourage the beautiful family tradition of preparing the Nativity scene in the days before Christmas but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares,” the document says.

Nativity scenes depict the birth of Jesus as Christians believe it took place—the baby, his father and mother posed in a humble stable setting with animals and shepherds, and kings bearing gifts who arrived days later.

1st amendment violation

The construction of such scenes in public squares or on government property is contested regularly by atheist, free speech or secularist groups.

In the United States, groups opposed to Nativity scenes in public places say they violate the first amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits the establishment of a state religion.

In 1984, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing Nativity scenes in public places, saying that they were not an effort to establish or support a particular religion and also possessed what the court called “legitimate secular purposes.”

Still, even after that ruling, American groups have regularly challenged their use or have demanded equal space on public property to promote their nonreligious views.

In 2014 in France, a court order to dismantle a Nativity scene in a town hall because it violated the country’s secular tradition prompted a backlash, which won support from rightwing politicians.

More fraternal world

In other parts of the document, the Pope said the purpose of the Nativity scene was to teach “that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness” and that they were a reminder to help those less fortunate.

“From the manger, Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized,” he wrote.

Francis made no mention of the legal battles and civic disputes.

Instead, he stressed the message he said people could draw from recreating the humble scene, where the baby Jesus was placed in a manger because Mary and Joseph couldn’t find any lodging for his birth.