Christ Comes to bring us peace, says Pope in Midnight Christmas mass

Rome, 30 (NE) Pope John Paul II presided in the Vatican Basilica, the Midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. Thirty cardinals concelebrated. During the Gloria, children from different continents laid flowers before an image of the child Jesus.

In his homily, the Pope said that the words of the prophet Isaiah, "' for to us a child is born, to us a son is given', contain the truth of Christmas. . A Child is born. In appearance, just another of the world's many children. A Child is born in a stable in Bethlehem. He is born in a condition of extreme deprivation: poor among the poor. But the One who is born is 'the Son' par excellence. . Like the unnamed and fortunate shepherds, let us too run to meet the One who has changed the course of history."

"O Child, who willed to have a manger for your crib," he exclaimed. "O Creator of the universe, who stripped yourself of divine glory; O Redeemer, who offered your vulnerable body in sacrifice for the salvation of humanity! May the radiance of your birth light up the night of the world. May the power of your message of love thwart the proud snares of the evil one. May the gift of your life make us understand ever more clearly the worth of the life of each human being."

"Too much blood is still being shed on the earth! Too much violence and too many conflicts trouble the peaceful coexistence of nations! You come to bring us peace. You are our peace! You alone can make of us 'a people purified' and belonging to you for ever, a people 'zealous for good deeds'."

The Pope asked Our Lady to give us her "eyes to contemplate him with faith; grant us your heart to worship him with love. In his simplicity, the Child of Bethlehem teaches us to rediscover the real meaning of our existence."

"O Holy Night, so long awaited, which has united God and man forever! You rekindle our hope. You fill us with ecstatic wonder," he concluded. "You assure us of the triumph of love over hatred, of life over death."

Pope asks God to save humanity from war

Rome, 30 (NE) In his traditional Christmas message which he read from the atrium of St. Peter's Square, on December 25, the Pope asked God to save humanity from war and conflict, the plague of terrorism and from violence.

The Holy Father said that with the birth of the Savior "a wave of tenderness and hope fills our hearts, together with an overpowering need for closeness and peace. . Beside the crib, the Christmas tree, with its twinkling lights, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus the tree of life has blossomed anew in the desert of humanity. The crib and the tree: precious symbols which hand down in time the true meaning of Christmas!"

The Son of God, said the Pope, "has entered into the history of each person living on the face of the earth. He is now present in the world as the one Savior of humanity. For this reason we pray to him: Savior of the world, save us!"

"Save us from the great evils which rend humanity in these first years of the third millennium," he exclaimed. "Save us from the wars and armed conflicts which lay waste whole areas of the world, from the scourge of terrorism and from the many forms of violence which assail the weak and the vulnerable. Save us from discouragement as we face the paths to peace, difficult paths indeed, yet possible and therefore necessary; paths which are always and everywhere urgent, especially in the Land where You were born, the Prince of Peace."

The Holy Father asked Our Lady to make us "able to recognize in the Child . the heralded Savior, who brings hope and peace to all. With you we worship Him and trustingly say: we need You, Redeemer of man, You who know the hopes and fears of our hearts. Come and stay with us, Lord! May the joy of your Nativity reach to the farthest ends of the universe!"

After the message, the Pope delivered Christmas greetings in 62 languages to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square and to everyone who watched on television and listened on the radio. Later he imparted the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing.

Cardinal Poupard: "Above all, being a believer it is not to be afraid of showing oneself as such"

Rome, 30 (NE - eclesiales.org) Cardinal Paul Poupard, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, granted recently an interview to Vatican Radio, in which he responded to different questions related to Church and world facts on 2003. "It has been a year of great confusion", marked by the war and tragedies, said the Cardinal, but added otherwise: "hope is in the new generations. I see many youths who do not get confused by the ideologies, who have a thirst of an absolute and go against the current of dominant culture".

Regarding the role that Catholics should play the in the year 2004, which is about to begin, Cardinal Poupard indicated that "Above all, being a believer it is not to be afraid of showing oneself as such. It means, to give testimony of our own faith". "We find ourselves -declared the Cardinal President of the Pontifical Council for Culture- before a certain apathy towards faith and before the diffusion of religious indifference. It stands out. On the other hand, another type of phenomenon is being verified, we cannot evaluate yet all its consequences and it signifies a great change because more than half of the Catholics live in America".

Spanish bishops celebrated Day of Family and Life

Madrid, 30 (NE - eclesiales.org) On occasion of the Day of Family and Life celebrated on December 28th, the Spanish Bishops published a Note in which they made, "along with John Paul II in his last trip to Spain", "a call to every Christian family, and to all the families in general: 'Take care of your roots, defend life'".

"The family institution -observed the Bishops- experiences nowadays a worrying fragility. The social and cultural environment generates weak people, many times incapable to assume their own responsibilities and deliver themselves in marriage as a full and reciprocal donation of true love". Further on, they recalled that Pope John Paul II in his last trip to Spain "announced with conviction that: 'new fruits of holiness shall arise if the family knows to remain united, as an authentic sanctuary of love and of life'. And as the Holy Father strongly emphasized: do not break your Christian roots'".

"The family -stressed the Bishops-, small Church, is called to holiness by love, taken root in faith and hope. Man, likewise the trees, cannot live without roots".

Cardinal Errázuriz: let's follow Jesus path in this Christmas

Santiago de Chile, 30(NE - eclesiales.org) "If we want our happiness to be full in this Christmas, we must follow Jesus' path" indicated Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, Archbishop of Santiago, in his Christmas Message for 2003. In the text the Chilean Archbishop encouraged faithful to perceive that "there is something very mysterious in our human life: we have a thirst for fullness", besides a deep "wish of reconciliation and peace with God". "Some people - observed the Cardinal- tend to lose the hope of achieving it, because they have not discovered yet that this mystery has a name: our thirst, printed in the deepest of our soul, is thirst of heaven: to taste something of heaven in this world, and to enjoy heaven itself when we arrive at the peace and the happiness of God himself and the friendship among all His children".

God is not indifferent to the human condition, says Pope

Rome, 10 (NE) In today's general audience celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope continued with his catechesis on the psalms and canticles which are part of the ecclesial prayer of vespers. On this occasion, the Holy Father spoke of a hymn in chapter 19 of the Apocalypse, composed of alleluias and acclamations.

The Holy Father noted that in this hymn various personalities from the heavenly liturgy speak: "An 'immense crowd,' made up of the assembly of the angels and the saints. The voice of the 'twenty four elders' stands out as well as that of the 'four living beings,' symbolic figures that seem to be the priests of this heavenly liturgy of praise and thanksgiving. At the end, a single voice rises up which involves the 'immense crowd' in the hymn."

"At the heart of this joyful invocation is the representation of the decisive intervention of God in history: the Lord is not indifferent to human events, like an isolated and authoritarian ruler. … On the contrary, His gaze is the source of action because He intervenes and destroys arrogant and oppressive rulers, He rebukes the proud who challenge Him, and judges all those who commit evil."

The Pope emphasized that "our prayer must invoke and praise divine action, the Lord's effective justice, and His glory obtained through the triumph of evil. God becomes present in history, siding with the just and with victims, as the short and concise acclamation of the Apocalypse declares and as is often repeated in the Psalms."

Pope stresses need of "integral formation" for people in Paraguay

Rome, 10 (NE) Pope John Paul II recalled Paraguay's "deep Christian roots", during an audience to the new ambassador to the Holy See of this nation. On Tuesday, upon receiving the Letters of Credence of the new ambassador the Pope emphasized that Paraguay "is called to take an ever-more active part in the concert of nations, and in order to do so, must promote in a permanent way the greater and more adequate education of its citizens."

In this sense, he expressed the desire that improvements in the educational system allow the "integral formation of the person to be available to everyone, preparing younger generations to fully assume their responsibilities as citizens capable of being protagonists in the nation's development, while actively procuring the common good."

After emphasizing "education in the true moral and spiritual values and promoting an authentic cultural movement that consolidates and spread these values," the Holy Father referred to the need to propose again "these fundamental values, such as honesty, austerity, responsibility for the common good, solidarity, spirit of sacrifice and the culture of work, capacity for dialogue and the participation of everyone at all levels, which will ensure greater development for all members of the national community."

Pope prays for peace during Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Rome, 10 (NE) "Today the Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary," said the Pope before thousands of pilgrims who gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus last December 8th, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In his address to pilgrims, the Pope said that "Mary, chosen to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate, is at the same time the primacy of His work of redemption. The grace of Christ, Redeemer operated in her in anticipation, preserving her from original sin and any contamination of sin."

"Therefore," he continued, "Mary is 'full of grace,' as the angel affirms when he announces her divine motherhood. The human mind cannot pretend to understand such a great marvel and mystery. It is the faith which reveals to us that the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is a sign of salvation for every human creature, pilgrim on the earth. It is also the faith that reminds us that Mary, in light of her unique condition, is our steadfast support in the difficult fight against sin and its consequences."

Later that day, at 5 p.m., the Pope arrived at Piazza di Spagna in the popemobile for the traditional crowning of Our Lady. After blessing a crown of roses which was placed at the foot of the column of Our Lady, he made some brief remarks.

Pope John Paul II asked the "Mother of mercy and hope" to give the men and women of the third millenium "the precious gift of peace: peace in our hearts and in families, in communities and among peoples; especially in those nations where fighting and death continues to occur every day. Help every human being of every race and culture to find and embrace Jesus, who came to earth in the mystery of Christmas to give us 'His' peace. Mary, Queen of peace, give us Christ, true peace in the world!"

Holy See stresses importance of humanitarian aid

Rome, 10 (NE) Made public today was the speech given by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva during the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent held in that Swiss city from December 2 to 6.

The nuncio noted that this conference "takes place at a moment marked by rumbles of war and by an explosion of terrorism of such a magnitude unknown before today. Civilian victims of well reported and of forgotten wars and of their destructive consequences run in the millions. In fact, some States and non-State actors try to exploit the desperation of endemic poverty and of extreme social inequality by promoting their private objectives through violent actions."

On the question of humanitarian law, Archbishop Tomasi said that "the Holy See looks at international humanitarian law as an important, invaluable, non-negotiable and still relevant instrument" and "will continue to promote appropriate initiatives of inter-religious character to defend human dignity during armed conflicts and to increase respect for international humanitarian law, especially through the vast network of Catholic education institutions."

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