VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday wished Christmas peace for people scarred by wars and for those who have lost loved ones to terrorism that he said is sowing “fear and death into the hearts of so many countries and cities.”

An estimated 40,000 tourists and Romans calmly endured long lines for security checks to enter St. Peter’s Square. There they got a glimpse of the pope on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and to the world) Christmas day message.

Francis cited those suffering through the Syrian war, especially during the “most awful battles” in Aleppo. He pressed the international community to find a negotiated solution. He urged Israelis and Palestinians to abandon hate and revenge.

He also lamented that in Nigeria “fundamentalist terrorism exploits even children,” a reference to child suicide bombers, and he decried conflicts and tensions in Africa, eastern Ukraine, Myanmar, the Korean peninsula, Colombia and Venezuela.

The heavy security at the Vatican reflected apprehension in much of Europe, which is reeling from extremist attacks. Last week, 12 people died in Berlin when a Tunisian man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group plowed a truck through a crowd at a Christmas market. He was killed a few days later in a shootout in near Milan.

“Peace to those who have lost a person dear to them, or who were wounded, as a result of brutal acts of terrorism, that have sown fear and death in the hearts of so many countries and cities,” the pope said.

Referring to the meaning of Jesus’ birth, Francis said: “Today this message goes out to the ends of the Earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace.” </s> Decrying the suffering in Syria, Pope Francis on Sunday wished Christmas peace and hope for all those scarred by war and terrorism, which he said is sowing "fear and death in the heart of many countries and cities."

Some 40,000 tourists and Romans calmly endured long security lines to enter St. Peter's Square to see the pope on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he delivered the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and to the world") Christmas message and blessing.

Francis spoke sorrowfully of the suffering caused by the Syrian war, especially in Aleppo, pressing the international community to help negotiate a solution. He urged Israelis and Palestinians to "write a new page of history, where hate and revenge give way" toward building a future of understanding and harmony.

He also cited the "brutality of terrorism" in Iraq, Libya and Yemen.

In Nigeria, the pope lamented, "fundamentalist terrorism exploits even children," a reference to child suicide bombers. He expressed hope that dialogue would prevail over "the mindset of conflict" in both South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The heavy security at the Vatican reflected apprehension in much of Europe, which is reeling from extremist attacks. Last week, 12 people died in Berlin when a Tunisian man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group plowed a truck through a crowd at a Christmas market. He was killed a few days later in a shootout near Milan.

"Peace to all those who have been injured or have suffered the loss of a loved one due to the brutal acts of terrorism that have sown fear and death in the heart of many countries and cities," the pope said.

Referring to the meaning of Jesus' birth, Francis said: "Today this message goes out to the ends of the Earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace."

His Christmas message also recalled Colombia, which has seen his personal intervention try to end Latin America's longest running conflict, and Venezuela, where a papal envoy has tried to facilitate talks between the government and the opposition as Venezuelans endure widespread food and medicine shortages.

Francis expressed concern over tensions on the Korean peninsula, and over Myanmar, which he said should "consolidate efforts to promote peaceful coexistence."

During Christmas Eve Mass in the basilica, Francis said Jesus' birth, in a humble stable, calls to mind how some children today must hide in underground bomb shelters, live on the street, lie on the bottom of overcrowded smugglers' boats, are given weapons instead of toys or aren't allowed to be born at all.

Throughout his papacy, Francis has denounced the Islamic extremist violence that has driven Christians from Mideast communities that date to Christianity's foundations. He has also demanded that Europe in particular do more to welcome refugees.

Reflecting the pope's concern for migrants, refugees and others on society's margins, Bologna's archbishop celebrated a Christmas Eve Mass for the homeless in a waiting room of that Italian city's main train station. </s> VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday offered a Christmas hope for peace in a world lacerated by war and terrorism, urging people to remember migrants, refugees and those hit by economic instability caused by “idolatry of money.”

Francis, marking the fourth Christmas season since his election in 2013, also urged Palestinians and Israelis, facing renewed tension after a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements on occupied land, to have the courage to put aside hate and revenge and “write a new page of history.”

His traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message was linked by a common thread of war, violence and suffering at a time that should be defined by harmony and peace symbolized by the infant Jesus.

“Peace to those who have lost a person dear to them as a result of brutal acts of terrorism, which have sown fear and death into the hearts of so many countries and cities,” he told some 40,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert.

“Today this message [of peace] goes out to the ends of the earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace,” he said, speaking in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

He called for peace in Syria, urging immediate assistance to the exhausted population of the city of Aleppo, which Syrian government forces recaptured last week after four years of devastating fighting with rebels.

“It is time for weapons to be still forever [in Syria], and the international community to actively seek a negotiated solution, so that civil co-existence can be restored in the country,” he said.

Francis, the first Latin American pope, also said Christmas should inspire everyone to help the less fortunate, including migrants, refugees and those swept up by social and economic upheavals.

“Peace to the peoples who suffer because of the economic ambitions of the few, because of the sheer greed and the idolatry of money, which leads to slavery,” he said.

At his Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday, Francis said the feast had been “taken hostage” by dazzling materialism that puts God in the shadows.

On Sunday, he also called for an end to “fundamentalist terrorism” in Nigeria, a reference to Boko Haram, which has killed 15,000 people and displaced more than two million during a seven-year insurgency to create an Islamic state.

Francis further appealed for an end to tensions between the government and opposition in Venezuela, for harmony in Colombia, which recently ended a civil war with FARC guerrillas, and an end to strife on the Korean peninsula and in Myanmar. </s> VATICAN CITY, Dec. 25 (UPI) — Pope Francis emphasized the need for world peace — specifically in war-torn Syria — during his Christmas Day address Sunday.

The BBC said the head of the Roman Catholic church delivered his message in front of tens of thousands of people who gathered in St. Peter’s Square. There was an intense security presence after the man suspected to have perpetrated last week’s deadly terror attack in Berlin was shot dead in the Italian city of Milan, the British broadcaster noted.

The Guardian newspaper quoted the pontiff as saying he wants his words regarding the end of violence to be carried “to the ends of the Earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace.”

“Far too much blood has been spilled,” he went on. “Above all, in the city of Aleppo, site of the most awful battles in recent weeks, it is most urgent that assistance and support be guaranteed to the exhausted, civil populace, with respect for humanitarian law. It is time for weapons to be stilled forever, and the international community to actively seek a negotiated solution so that civil co-existence can be restored in the country.”

The pope also urged Israelis and Palestinians to “have the courage and the determination to write a new page of history, where hate and revenge give way to the will to build together a future of mutual understanding and harmony.”

The BBC reported he denounced global terrorism, which he said “had sown fear and death into the hearts of so many countries and cities.” </s> Pope Francis told crowds in St. Peter’s Square that this Christmas might be the last one for humanity.

In a grim speech, the Pope said that the current chaotic state of the world marks the beginning of the “end times”, and that this time next year the world is likely to be unrecognisable.

Francis, who previously announced the beginning of World War 3, had labelled this year’s Christmas as a “charade” during a Mass at the Casa Santa Maria earlier in the month.

“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war,” he said earlier in December.

The Pontiff, who turned 79 on Thursday, elaborated on his views this weekend, telling a crowd, “While the world starves, burns, and descends further into chaos, we should realise that this year’s Christmas celebrations for those who choose to celebrate it may be their last“.

“Unless the path to peace is recognised, we must weep for those innocent victims who grow by the day, and ask God for forgiveness. As Jesus and God weeps, I do too“. </s> Pope Francis gave a solemn homily while celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican late Saturday evening. Decrying violence and materialism, he spoke to a full St. Peter's Basilica of children who "suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity" because no one is willing to help them.

"Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons," Francis charged, mourning children "hiding underground to escape bombardment, on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants."

The pope urged sacrificial compassion for the downtrodden, exhorting his listeners to ensure this is not a Christmas "when we are concerned for gifts but cold toward those who are marginalized." On Sunday, he will give the Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and the world") blessing at noon. Bonnie Kristian </s> VATICAN CITY - The following is the Vatican’s official translation of Pope’s Francis’ traditional “Urbi et Orbi” Christmas day message, delivered in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica Sunday:

Today the Church once more experiences the wonder of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and the shepherds of Bethlehem, as they contemplate the newborn child laid in a manger: Jesus, the Savior. On this day full of light, the prophetic proclamation resounds: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder; and his name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is 9:6)

The power of this Child, Son of God and Son of Mary, is not the power of this world, based on might and wealth; it is the power of love. It is the power that created the heavens and the earth, and gives life to all creation: to minerals, plants and animals.

It is the force that attracts man and woman, and makes them one flesh, one single existence. It is the power that gives new birth, forgives sin, reconciles enemies, and transforms evil into good. It is the power of God.

This power of love led Jesus Christ to strip himself of his glory and become man; it led him to give his life on the cross and to rise from the dead. It is the power of service, which inaugurates in our world the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of justice and peace.

For this reason, the birth of Jesus was accompanied by the angels’ song as they proclaimed: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2:14).

Today this message goes out to the ends of the earth to reach all peoples, especially those scarred by war and harsh conflicts that seem stronger than the yearning for peace.

Peace to men and women in the war-torn land of Syria, where far too much blood has been spilled. Particularly in Aleppo, the site of horrendous fighting in recent weeks, it is most urgent that, in respect for humanitarian law, assistance and support be guaranteed to the sorely tried civilian population, who continue to live in desperate straits and immense suffering and need. It is time for weapons to be still forever, and the international community to seek actively a negotiated solution, so that civil coexistence can be restored in the country.

Peace to the women and men of the beloved Holy Land, the land chosen and favored by God. May Israelis and Palestinians have the courage and determination to write a new page of history, where hate and revenge give way to the will to build together a future of mutual understanding and harmony.

May Iraq, Libya and Yemen - whose peoples suffer war and the brutality of terrorism - be able once again to find unity and concord.

Peace to the men and women in various parts of Africa, especially in Nigeria, where fundamentalist terrorism exploits even children in order to perpetrate horror and death. Peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so that divisions may be healed and all people of good will may strive to undertake the path of development and sharing, preferring the culture of dialogue to the mindset of conflict.

Peace to women and men who to this day suffer the consequences of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, where there is urgent need for a common desire to bring relief to the civil population and to put into practice the commitments which have been assumed.

We implore harmony for the dear people of Colombia, which seeks to embark on a new and courageous path of dialogue and reconciliation. May such courage also motivate the beloved country of Venezuela to undertake the necessary steps to put an end to current tensions, and build together a future of hope for the whole population.

Peace to all who, in different areas, are enduring sufferings due to constant dangers and persistent injustice.

May Myanmar consolidate its efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and, with the assistance of the international community, provide necessary protection and humanitarian assistance to all those so gravely and urgently in need of it. May the Korean peninsula see the tensions it is experiencing overcome in a renewed spirit of collaboration.

Peace to all who have been injured or have suffered the loss of a loved one due to the brutal acts of terrorism that have sown fear and death in the heart of many countries and cities.

Peace - not merely the word, but real and concrete peace - to our abandoned and excluded brothers and sisters, to those who suffer hunger and to all the victims of violence.

Peace to exiles, migrants and refugees, to all those who in our day are subject to human trafficking.

Peace to the peoples who suffer because of the economic ambitions of a few, because of sheer greed and the idolatry of money, which leads to slavery.

Peace to those affected by social and economic unrest, and to those who endure the consequences of earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.

And peace to the children, on this special day on which God became a child, above all those deprived of the joys of childhood because of hunger, wars or the selfishness of adults.

Peace on earth to men and women of goodwill, who work quietly and patiently each day, in their families and in society, to build a more humane and just world, sustained by the conviction that only with peace is there the possibility of a more prosperous future for all.

Dear brothers and sisters, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;” he is the “prince of peace.” Let us welcome him! </s> (VATICAN CITY) — On Christianity’s most joyful day, Pope Francis called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict, “beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria” and extending to Israel, where 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border two days before Easter Sunday.

Francis reflected on the power of Christianity’s core belief — that Jesus rose from the dead following crucifixion — in his formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a packed square of some 80,000 faithful below.

The pontiff said the message of the resurrection offers hope in a world “marked by so many acts of injustice and violence,” including parts of Africa affected by “hunger, endemic conflicts and terrorism.”

“It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s culture of waste, and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery,” the pope said.

Francis called for a “swift end” to the seven years of carnage in Syria, demanding that aid be delivered to the war-torn country’s needy and calling for “fitting conditions for the returned and the displaced.”

The pope also urged reconciliation in Israel, a place “experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenseless.” His remarks followed the Friday deaths of Palestinian protesters who charged toward Gaza’s border with Israel, the area’s deadliest violence in four years.

Turning to Asia, Francis expressed hope that talks underway could bring peace to the Korean peninsula, urging “those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment to promote the good of the Korean people.”

The pope also urged more steps to bring harmony to divided Ukraine, called for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo and appealed for the world not to forget victims of conflict, especially children.

“May there be no lack of solidarity with all those forced to leave their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for living,” said Francis, who has often championed the cause of migrants and refugees.

The church’s first pontiff from Latin America cited in particular the problems in Venezuela. He said he hoped the country would “find a just, peaceful and humane way to surmount quickly the political and humanitarian crises that grip it.”

Earlier, tens of thousands of faithful underwent heavy security checks to enter St. Peter’s Square to participate in Easter Sunday Mass celebrated by the pope, followed by his “Urbi et Orbi” message (“to the city and the world.”)

Security precautions included bag checks and metal detector wands for everyone entering the square, while the main avenue leading to the Vatican, as well as smaller adjoining streets, were closed to traffic.

Francis opened Easter festivities with a tweet to his global flock: “Our faith is born on Easter morning: Jesus is alive! The experience is at the heart of the Christian message.”

Elsewhere, hundreds of Christians marked Easter by flocking to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where they believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. </s> Pope Francis, in his Easter address, has called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there “does not spare the defenceless“.



The pontiff made his appeal in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to tens of thousands of people in the flower-bedecked square below where he earlier celebrated a mass.

He also appealed for an end to the “carnage” in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter the country, and for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Francis appeared to refer directly to last Friday’s Gaza violence, calling for “reconciliation for the Holy Land, also experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenceless”.

Israel’s defence minister has rejected calls for an inquiry into the killings by the military during a Palestinian demonstration that turned violent at the Gaza-Israel border.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and other leaders have called for an independent investigation into the bloodshed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christians attend Easter mass at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

The pope also begged for peace for “the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria, whose people are worn down by an apparently endless war”.

“This Easter, may the light of the risen Christ illumine the consciences of all political and military leaders, so that a swift end may be brought to the carnage in course,” he said.

He spoke a day after the Syrian army command said it had regained most of the towns and villages in eastern Ghouta. Tens of thousands of people have fled once-bustling towns in the suburbs east of the capital, which had nearly 2 million people before the start of the conflict and were major commercial and industrial hubs.

Francis called for international assistance for Venezuela, so that more people would not have to abandon their homeland because of the economic and political crisis.

He hoped the “fruits of dialogue” would advance peace and harmony on the Korean peninsula, where the two sides are set to hold their first summit in more than a decade on 27 April, after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, pledged his commitment to denuclearisation.

Francis, celebrating his sixth Easter as Roman Catholic leader since his election in 2013, urged his listeners to work for an end to the “so many acts of injustice” in the world.

He prayed that the power of Jesus’s message “bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment, where there are migrants and refugees – so often rejected by today’s culture of waste – and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery”.
Pope Francis pleads for peace in a Christmas Mass in the Vatican.