Pope Francis ushered in Christmas with a midnight Mass in which he insisted God loves “even the worst of us” who may have “made a complete mess of things.
“Christmas reminds us that God continues to love us all, even the worst of us,” the 83-year-old pontiff said in his sermon at St. Peter’s Basilica as hundreds also watched on large screens outside.
“You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you. How often do we think that God is good if we are good, and punishes us if we are bad. Yet that is not how he is.”
Francis emphasized “unconditional” love in a year that has seen the Roman Catholic church further rocked by claims of sexual abuse by priests around the world and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy.
The pope, who has been scorned by populist politicians because of his defense of refugees and migrants, later urged kindness to both groups in his annual Christmas Day address.
“It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries,” he said, speaking in front of tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and Romans gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his “Urbi et Orbi” — or “To the City and the World” — address.
“It is injustice that forces them to endure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement of every kind and torture in inhumane detention camps.
“It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life but instead find themselves before walls of indifference,” Francis said, addressing the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
He referred to countries around the world suffering from ongoing conflict, including Syria, where he said there is “no end to the hostilities that have [torn] their country over the last decade.”
He also mentioned 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 also called for an easing of the crisis in Lebanon, social tensions in Iraq and “a grave humanitarian crisis’’ in Yemen.
He noted that a number of 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 offered prayers of hope for the people of Africa, including those in Congo “torn by continuing conflicts’’ and the people of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, where people have been “persecuted for their religious faith.’’
“There is darkness in human hearts, yet the light of Christ is greater still,” Francis said.
“There is darkness in personal, family and social relationships, but the light of Christ is greater. There is darkness in economic, geopolitical and ecological conflicts, yet greater still is the light of Christ,” he said.
With Post Wires