Source: Talk of Naija
Pope
Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for an “end to the bloodshed” in
conflict-wracked Syria in a traditional Christmas message that touched on
several other of the world’s conflict zones.
“There is hope in the world … even at the most difficult times and
in the most difficult situations,” he said, praying that “peace spring up for
the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not
spare even the defenceless and reaps innocent victims.”
Speaking from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in a message
watched by millions around the world, he called “for an end to the bloodshed,
easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the
pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.”
A capacity crowd of 40,000 pilgrims filled the vast St Peter’s
Square to hear the 85-year-old pope, resplendent in red vestments, deliver the
message under partly cloudy skies.
His wide-ranging “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World)
message also pointed to hotspots across Africa and urged religious freedom in
China, and as usual called for peace in the Middle East.
He notably lamented “savage acts of terrorism” that frequently
target Christian churches in Nigeria.
Also Tuesday, South African former president Nelson Mandela
shared Christmas greetings with visitors to his hospital bedside, including his
wife Graca Machel, other family members and President Jacob Zuma.
“We found him in good spirits,” Zuma said. “He was happy to have
visitors on this special day and is looking much better.”
The 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon was admitted on December 8
to a Pretoria hospital where has been treated for a recurrent lung infection
and underwent surgery to remove gallstones.
Another prominent former world leader was confined to a hospital
bed for Christmas this year: Margaret Thatcher of Britain.
The 87-year-old former prime minister was admitted to hospital
on Thursday for a minor operation to remove a growth in her bladder.
Meanwhile in Australia, unseasonal cool weather kept the usual
Christmas revellers from thronging to Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, while
wildfires raged in other parts of the country as the summer heat flared.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard thanked emergency crews and others
who had to work on the holiday, paying particular tribute to soldiers serving
in Afghanistan.
“To our troops abroad, we honour and admire you, and I hope your
families know how grateful we are to you this time of year,” Gillard said in
her annual Christmas message.
Seven Australian troops died in the conflict in 2012; 39 have
perished there over the past decade.
In Indonesia, more than 200 Muslims threw rotten eggs at
Christians wanting to hold a Christmas mass outside Jakarta, police said.
Some 100 Christian worshippers intended to hold a mass near the
spot where they hope to build a church, in a project that was barred by
district government and community members in 2009.
Since then, worshippers from the Filadelfia Batak Christian
Protestant Church have held Sunday services under scorching sun outside the
property.
On Tuesday, however, local community members blocked the road
near the land, local police told AFP.
Meanwhile in the United States, the organisation responsible for
monitoring North American airspace helped with the important task of helping
children track Santa Claus’s progress as he completed his whirlwind journey
around the globe.
The Santa tracker set up by the North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD), a US-Canada joint operation, said that Father Christmas and
his overworked reindeer were resting at the North Pole, having delivered more
than seven billion gifts during his annual journey.
The website, www.noradsanta.org, is available in eight languages
and allows children to find Santa’s location and upcoming stops on his trip.
Also overnight, the pope sent out two tweets, one asking his
some two million “followers”: “What are the family Christmas traditions that
you still remember from your childhood?”
In the other, the German pontiff said that nativity scenes bring
back fond memories from his childhood in Bavaria.
The pope has sent out 14 tweets since opening his Twitter
account @pontifex in eight languages early this month.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
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