Urbi and orbi. Pope: “The child of Bethlehem grants fraternity to the land where he was born”

Mireia Bonilla – Vatican City

This afternoon, Pope Francis delivered his traditional Christmas message and gave the blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and to the world) from the Hall of Blessings and not from the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica as they all have traditionally made the popes throughout history. Today Francis announced a direct message: “A child is born” and this Child, Jesus, was born “for us” because he is the “son” that God has given to the whole human family.

The Pope explaining that Jesus was born in a stable, but enveloped in the love of the Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph and that, being born in the flesh, the Son of God consecrates family love, he took the opportunity to address themselves to families, whom they cannot meet today, as well as those who are forced to stay at home: “May Christmas be an opportunity for all to rediscover the family as the cradle of life and faith ; a welcoming place of love, dialogue, forgiveness, fraternal solidarity and shared joy, source of peace for all humanity ”.

We are all in the same boat: each person is my brother!

Francisco also recalled that at this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and by serious economic and social imbalances, aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, we more than ever need fraternity: “A fraternity based on real love, able to find the other who is different from me, to have pity for his suffering, to approach him and take care of him, even if he is not my family, my ethnicity, my religion; he is different from me but he is my brother, he is my sister ”.

God offers us this fraternity by giving us his Son Jesus, therefore, the Pope’s desire is that the Child of Bethlehem help us “to be available, generous and in solidarity, in particular with the most fragile people, the sick and all. those who are currently unemployed or in serious difficulty because of the economic consequences of the pandemic, as well as with the women who, during these months of detention, have suffered domestic violence ”. “We are all in the same boat. Each person is my brother, ”Francisco insisted.

First wish of the Pope: vaccines for all

Francisco recalls that at Christmas we celebrate the light of Christ and that today, in this period of darkness and uncertainty due to the pandemic, “several lights of hope appear, like the discoveries of vaccines”. “But – he assured – for these lights to come on and bring hope to everyone, they must be available to everyone.” “We cannot let closed nationalisms prevent us from living as the true human family that we are. Nor can we allow the virus of radical individualism to invade us and make us indifferent to the suffering of other brothers and sisters. I cannot give myself a leg up on the others, putting the laws of the market and the patents above the laws of love and the health of mankind. That is why he called on heads of state, businesses and international organizations “to promote cooperation and not competition, and to seek a solution for all: vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and the most vulnerable. most needy of all parts of the planet “.

Desire for fraternity and peace for the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean

Another wish of the Pope for this Christmas 2020 is that it is the right time “to dissolve tensions throughout the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean”. For this reason, he asked that the Child Jesus “heal again the wounds of the beloved people of Syria”, who for a decade have been exhausted by the war and its consequences, made even worse by the pandemic, “to comfort the Iraqi people. and to all those who have embarked on the path of reconciliation, in particular the Yazidis “, who have been severely affected in the last years of war, and” may he bring peace to Libya “and allow the new phase of ongoing negotiations put an end to all forms of hostility in the country.

The Pope also called for the fraternity for the land which gave birth to the Child of Bethlehem: “that the Israelis and the Palestinians can regain mutual trust to seek a just and lasting peace through direct dialogue” and that the star who lit up the night May he serve as a guide and encouragement to the Lebanese people “so that, in the difficulties with which they are confronted, with the support of the international community, they do not lose hope”.

And of course, the day when the Word of God becomes a child, the Pontiff also asks us to direct our gaze to so many children who throughout the world, especially in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, still pay a high price for war: “May your faces touch the conscience of people of good will, so that the causes of conflict can be courageously addressed and worked to build a future of peace.”

Desire for a ceasefire in the Caucasus

The third wish of the Holy Father concerns the ceasefire in the Caucasus region: “that the Son of the Most High support the commitment of the international community and of the countries concerned to maintain the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the eastern regions of Ukraine, and to promote dialogue as the only way to lead to peace and reconciliation ”.

Ending armed conflicts in Africa

Francis’ gaze this Christmas is also turned to Africa, for which he asks “that the Divine Child alleviate the suffering of the populations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, torn apart by a serious humanitarian crisis, at the base of which extremism and armed conflict, but also pandemic and other natural disasters; stop the violence in Ethiopia, where, due to the fighting, many people are forced to flee; May she comfort the inhabitants of the Cabo Delgado region, in northern Mozambique, victims of the violence of international terrorism; and to encourage the leaders of South Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon to continue on the path of fraternity and the dialogue they have started. “

Hope for America and Asia

The Pope’s Christmas message this year also recalls the American continent, particularly affected by the coronavirus, so that “the eternal Word of the Father is a source of hope”. Also to “help overcome recent social tensions in Chile and end the suffering of the Venezuelan people”.

Finally, the Bishop of Rome asked the King of Heaven to “protect the peoples affected by natural disasters in Southeast Asia, in particular in the Philippines and Vietnam”, where numerous storms have caused devastating floods. for the families who they live on these lands. And thinking of Asia, the Rohingya people cannot be forgotten: “May Jesus, born poor among the poor, bring hope to their sufferings.