VATICAN (CNS): “My thoughts at this moment turn to families: to those who cannot come together today and to those forced to remain at home,” Pope Francis said on Christmas Day, 25 December 2020.
On Christmas like no other, he delivered his Christmas message and Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) blessing from inside the Hall of Benediction, a long, gold-hued upper area just behind the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica—from where he would normally have delivered his message—lined on the east with enormous windows and balconies facing St. Peter’s Square.
Because of Italy’s renewed lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the pope read his message in the presence of a representative group of about 50 people in contrast to the tens of thousands who would usually fill St. Peter’s Square for the midday event.
“Today, at this time of darkness and uncertainty because of the pandemic, there appear different lights of hope, such as the discovery of vaccines.”
“At Christmas, we celebrate the light of Christ that comes into the world, and he comes for all, not just for some,” Pope Francis said, adding, “Today, at this time of darkness and uncertainty because of the pandemic, there appear different lights of hope, such as the discovery of vaccines.”
He said, “But so these lights may illuminate and bring light to the whole world, they must be available to all.”
He added, “I cannot put myself before others, placing the laws of the market and of patents above the law of love and the health of humanity.”
“Thanks to this child, we can all call one another brothers and sisters, for so we truly are. We come from every continent, from every language and culture, with our own identities and differences, yet we are all brothers and sisters.”
Pope Francis sent out a plea to the leaders of governments, pharmaceutical companies and international agencies “to promote cooperation and not competition” in ensuring the widespread availability of the vaccines.
Peace and family—in the sense that all people are brothers and sisters—were the central themes of the pope’s message, echoing the teaching in his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship.
“A birth is always a source of hope; it is life that blossoms, a promise of the future,” the pope said, stressing that Jesus’ birth is even more powerful since he was born “’to us’—an ‘us’ without any borders, privileges or exclusions. The child born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem was born for everyone: he is the ‘son’ that God has given to the entire human family.”
The pope remarked that, “Thanks to this child, we can all call one another brothers and sisters, for so we truly are. We come from every continent, from every language and culture, with our own identities and differences, yet we are all brothers and sisters.”
He said that recognising that connection between different people is even more important “at this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.”
Pope Francis said that as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another, the kinship existing between everyone is not sentimental, but is “grounded in genuine love, making it possible for me to encounter others different from myself, feeling compassion for their sufferings, drawing near to them and caring for them even though they do not belong to my family, my ethnic group or my religion.”
He said that the faces of the suffering children in Syria, Iraq and Yemen should touch people’s consciences and make them pray and work for peace.
The pope went on to observe, “For all their differences, they are still my brothers and sisters. The same thing is true of relationships between peoples and nations.”
Pope Francis prayed that the newborn Jesus would help everyone “be generous, supportive and helpful, especially toward those who are vulnerable—the sick, those unemployed or experiencing hardship due to the economic effects of the pandemic, and women who have suffered domestic violence during these months of lockdown.”
Migrants, refugees and the innocent victims of wars around the world were also on the pope’s mind as he celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace.
He said that the faces of the suffering children in Syria, Iraq and Yemen should touch people’s consciences and make them pray and work for peace.
“May the Babe of Bethlehem grant the gift of fraternity to the land that witnessed his birth,” the pope said, adding, “May Israelis and Palestinians regain mutual trust and seek a just and lasting peace through a direct dialogue capable of ending violence and overcoming endemic grievances, and thus bear witness before the world to the beauty of fraternity.”
Pope Francis also made specific appeals for reconciliation and an end to conflicts in eastern Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ethiopia, northern Mozambique, South Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon.
“May the Eternal Word of the Father be a source of hope for the American continent, particularly affected by the coronavirus, which has intensified its many sufferings, frequently aggravated by the effects of corruption and drug trafficking,” he prayed. “May he help to ease the recent social tensions in Chile and end the sufferings of the people of Venezuela.”
Praising those who “work to bring hope, comfort and help to those who suffer and those who are alone,” the pope insisted that Jesus’ birth “tells us that pain and evil are not the final word. To become resigned to violence and injustice would be to reject the joy and hope of Christmas.”
Pope Francis concluded, saying, “May Christmas be an opportunity for all of us to rediscover the family as a cradle of life and faith, a place of acceptance and love, dialogue, forgiveness, fraternal solidarity and shared joy, a source of peace for all humanity,” then, wishing all a Merry Christmas, he imparted his Urbi et Orbi blessing.
As announced by Angelo Cardinal Comastri, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, the solemn blessing included a plenary indulgence for everyone watching on television, listening by radio or following by computer.
