Pope calls for kindness to migrants, unconditional love in Christmas speeches

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis offered a Christmas message of hope Wednesday against darkness that cloaks conflicts and relationships in large parts of the world from the Middle East to the Americas to Africa.

The pope told tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and Romans gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the annual Christmas Day message that “the light of Christ is greater" than the darkness “in human hearts” and "in economic, geopolitical and ecological conflicts."

The traditional “Urbi et Orbi" (“to the city and to the world") Christmas message has become an occasion for popes to address suffering in the world and press for solutions. Francis was flanked by Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the papal council for migrants, and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope’s official almsgiver.

The pope cited the Syrian people “who still see no end to the hostilities that have rent their country over the last decade" as well as Israel, where Jesus “was born as the savior of mankind and where so many people – struggling but not discouraged – still await a time of peace, security and prosperity."

Francis called for an easing of the crisis in Lebanon, social tensions in Iraq and “a grave humanitarian crisis’’ in Yemen.

He noted that countries in the Americas “are experiencing a time of social and political upheaval," citing “the beloved Venezuelan people, long tried by their political and social tensions.”

The pope said migrants are forced by injustice “to emigrate in the hope of a secure life." Instead of finding acceptance, Francis said, they encounter injustice along their journey, including abuse, enslavement and torture in “inhumane detention camps" and death during dangerous sea and desert crossings.

Once migrants arrive in “places where they might have hoped for a dignified life ... they instead find themselves before walls of indifference," he said.

The pope offered prayers of hope for the people of Africa, including those in Congo “torn by continuing conflicts" and those in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, where people have been “persecuted for their religious faith."

Francis urged the rival leaders of South Sudan to maintain a pledge to form a coalition government early next year. A peace deal to end a five-year civil war that killed almost 400,000 people was signed last year, but a November deadline to form a coalition government was extended to February as aspects of the peace deal need to be resolved.

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The message, issued separately from the traditional papal Christmas address, was signed by the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop Justin Welby, and the Rev. John Chalmers, ex-moderator of the Church of Scotland.

The religious leaders offered assurances “of our spiritual closeness as you strive for a swift implementation" of peace agreements and prayers “for a renewed commitment to the path of reconciliation and fraternity."

Francis assured the faithful during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica that God loves everyone – "even the worst of us."

As a choir sang the classic Christmas hymn “The First Noel,” Francis unveiled a statue of the newborn Jesus lying in a Nativity scene at the foot of the altar Tuesday.

Francis said the birth of Jesus, which Christians commemorate on Christmas Day, was a reminder of God’s unconditional love for everyone.

“God does not love you because you think and act the right way,” he said. “You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you.”

Francis has frequently emphasized his call for “personal conversion” in his  papacy, saying that true reform cannot be imposed from on high but must develop from within. He has denounced the attitude of doctrinal and legal purists who chafed at his outreach to gays, divorcees and people on the margins.