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Pope calls for Middle East peace
25/12/2005 08:19 - (SA)
Denis Barnett
Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI made an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East early on Sunday, celebrating the first Christmas mass of his pontificate as Christians around the world marked the birth of Jesus.
"On this night, when we look towards Bethlehem, let us pray in a special way for the birthplace of our Redeemer and for the men and women who live and suffer there," Benedict said in his homily at the traditional midnight mass in St Peter's basilica attended by thousands of faithful.
"We wish to pray for peace in the Holy Land. Look O Lord, upon this corner of the earth, your homeland, which is so very dear to you. Let your light shine upon it! Let it know peace!"
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas
As Benedict spoke in the Vatican, a Midnight Mass in Bethlehem celebrated by the top Roman Catholic official in Jerusalem in the presence of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was still going on.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah used his annual Christmas sermon in Bethlehem to pray for a holy land "thirsting for peace" as he urged political leaders to create life rather than death.
Earlier, the pope lit a candle for world peace at the window of his Vatican apartment in a silent Christmas blessing that was part of a tradition first begun by his predecessor, the late John Paul II, in 1982.
It came at the end of a ceremony to inaugurate a huge Nativity scene in the St Peter's Square, dominated by a 100-foot Christmas tree, a gift from Austria.
In his Christmas mass homily before thousands of pilgrims, government officials and diplomats accredited to the Holy See, the pope emphasised the traditional meaning of Christmas, when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem.
Looking tired, with more stress showing on his face since his election, the 78-year-old pontiff said that some of the splendour of Christmas shone on every child "even on those still unborn."
During the mass, as a choir sang the Gloria, 12 children in traditional dress representing the five continents brought flowers from the back of the basilica and placed them around the figure of the Christ child on a table.
The shepherds of Bethlehem
Benedict said in his homily that while the shepherds of Bethlehem were watchful and their hearts were open, ready to receive God, "some persons have closed their hearts, there is no door by which his love can enter."
"God seeks persons who can be vessels and heralds of his peace. Let us pray that he will not find our hearts closed. Let us strive to be active heralds of his peace, in the world of today."
Vatican officials said television networks from 47 nations had broadcast the ceremony live, while earlier the Vatican's own television service made a live link-up with Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born.
On a night of tradition, John Paul II, who died April 2, is not being forgotten. Several hours of documentaries dedicated to the late pope were being shown throughout the evening on Italy's TV7 channel.
Benedict is scheduled to deliver his Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" message (Latin for "to the city and the world") to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square at noon on Sunday.
- SAPA
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