Catholics get 'wake-up call'
2005-12-25 16:14
Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI issued a spiritual wake-up call Sunday, telling pilgrims in his first Christmas Day message as pope that they risked "spiritual barrenness" by becoming too enamoured with modern-day intellectual and technical achievements.
The German pontiff told about 40 000 pilgrims in a rain-soaked St Peter's Square that signs of hope for peace in the Holy Land, Iraq and Lebanon "need to be confirmed by actions inspired by fairness and wisdom".
In the message in which the pope traditionally focuses on the world's trouble spots, Benedict called for protection of the rights of people "experiencing tragic humanitarian crises, such as those in Darfur and other regions of central Africa".
However, his first Christmas message was dominated by his concern for the spiritual well-being of his flock of about 1.2 billion Catholics, many of whom followed the annual event via a live television link-up to 68 countries.
"Men and women in our technological age risk becoming victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements, ending up in spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart," he lamented.
"Wake up, O men and women of the third millennium!" he said, urging people to open their hearts to the spiritual "light" of Christmas.
A festive crowd, including thousands of children, took shelter under a sea of colourful umbrellas in the square, dominated by a giant Nativity scene and a 30m tree donated by Austria.
Benedict delighted the huge crowd when he launched into Christmas greetings to television viewers around the world in 32 languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese and even Finnish - a tradition first begun by John Paul II, who usually stretched to more than 60 languages.