More than a Christmas greeting | Opinion

On the occasion of Christmas, Pope Francis delivered his message and gave the blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) but what could have been one more ceremony in the Catholic tradition, due to the circumstances but also because of the imprint of Francis, was much more than just a Christmas greeting and it has become another sign of the times. Firstly, because instead of St. Peter’s Square full of parishioners and the Pope speaking from the balcony of the Basilica facing the crowd, Jorge Bergoglio was seen on television speaking to an audience far from the Hall of Blessings. of the Vatican. . He did so for his own protection, but at the same time to respect the restrictive measures imposed in Italy following the worsening of the pandemic caused by covid-19. It was an unusual image for a Christmas in Rome, but a new sign of when we are experiencing the pandemic.

However, it was not just that.

If anything characterizes Francisco, it is by witnessing as much as possible – from his special place of observer and participant on the world stage – at the sum of the events which occur in international society. Is so his Christmas greetings were crossed by continuous references to inequalities and conflicts and the need to build an “us” as a society that leaves no one behind. “This child, Jesus, was born for us: an us without borders, without privileges or exclusions,” he said on purpose.

And from this unusual and uninhabited setting for a papal discourse, Bergoglio returned to the political meaning of his religious preaching, the same that was present in his documents and public manifestations. This is why we mentioned children who “in Syria, Iraq and Yemen still pay the high price of war”, tensions that persist in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean, conflicts in Syria, Iraq. , in Yemen and Libya, to the endless hostility between Israelis and Palestinians, to the situation in Lebanon, and to a request for commitment from the international community and the countries concerned to continue the ceasefire in Ukraine. In Africa, the Pope focused his attention on the humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where armed conflicts worsen the consequences of the pandemic, on the reality of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique and supported the peace dialogue initiatives advancing in South Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon. There were also references to “recent social tensions in Chile and the end of the suffering of the Venezuelan people”.

A global look at the conjuncture of global society and its conflicts, which also confirms the place that Francis assumes as a protagonist in the political life of the international community.

Adapted to the same logic, Bergoglio did not avoid the reference to the universal health crisis and, recognizing the hope that the discovery of vaccines implies, he immediately asked “vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all regions of the planet“Criticize those who place” the laws of the market and patents before the laws of love and the health of mankind. “Without failing to also underline the economic consequences of the pandemic and the situation of” women who have suffered domestic violence during these months of detention ”.

A Christmas speech which, going beyond the ceremonial and protocol limits, is a review of the world situation and of the most conflicting questions with the stamp that Francis has placed on his pontificate: to stand in the place of the poorest, the “rejected” as they say.

Finally, a cultural political message that goes beyond the formalities of a Christmas greeting of whom, being the highest figure of the Catholic Church, consolidates its place as a voice that resonates on the international scene to be the spokesperson for many people whose demands are silenced or not heard.