Pope Francis on Saturday led Catholics across the world into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and power hunger is such that some want to “consume even their neighbours”.
Francis, celebrating the 10th Christmas of his pontificate, presided over a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The ceremony was the first with capacity for around 7,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
About 4,000 other people took part outside in St. Peter’s Square on a relatively warm night.
As has been the case in recent months, a knee problem has prevented Francis from standing for long periods, delegating a cardinal to be the main promoter of the ceremony at the altar of Christendom’s largest church.
Sitting at the side of the altar for most of the Mass, Francis wove his homily around the theme of greed and consumption on multiple levels. He urged people to look beyond the consumerism that “packaged” the Christmas party to rediscover its meaning and remember those who suffer from war and poverty.
“Men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbors, their brothers and sisters,” he said. “How many wars have we seen! And in how many places, even today, human dignity and freedom are treated with contempt!
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Francis has spoken out once morest the war at almost every public event, at least twice a week, denouncing what he calls atrocities and unprovoked aggression. He, however, did not name Ukraine on Saturday night.
“As always, the main victims of this human greed are the weak and the vulnerable,” he said, denouncing “a world hungry for money, power and pleasure…”
“I am thinking above all of the children devoured by war, poverty and injustice”, said the pope, also referring to “unborn, poor and forgotten children”.
Drawing a parallel between Jesus born in a manger and today’s poverty, the pope said: “In the manger of rejection and discomfort, God makes himself present. It comes because there we see the problem of our humanity: the indifference produced by the greedy rush to possess and consume.”
Earlier this month, the pope urged people to spend less on Christmas celebrations and gifts to send the difference to Ukrainians to help them get through the winter.
The pope turned 86 last week and, aside from his knee problem, appears to be in good health.
On Sunday, Francis is due to deliver his biannual “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to tens of thousands of people in the square below.
REUTERS
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