Pope urges hope in Christmas address, prays for migrants facing injustice

“It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope”

Christmas-Pope-urbi-et-orbi-Reuters Pope Francis delivers the "Urbi et Orbi" message from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, December 25, 2019 | Reuters

In his ‘Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world)’ address on Christmas, Pope Francis prayed for those who suffer through war and strife across the world, asserting that hope would prevail over the darkness in human hearts.

Speaking to tens of thousands at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City and to millions worldwide, Francis marked his address with prayers for those who suffered across the world, highlighting the plight faced by those who suffered through war and conflict in the Middle East as well as those who faced poverty and unrest in Africa and the Americas.

He made a special mention of migrants, calling it an injustice that forces them to leave them homes and that prevents them from finding new ones.

“May the Son of God, come down to earth from heaven, protect and sustain all those who, due to these and other injustices, are forced to emigrate in the hope of a secure life. It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. It is injustice that forces them to ensure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement of every kind and torture in inhumane detention camps,” the Pope said.

“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,” he added.

The Urbi et Orbi is a traditional address by the Pope on special occasions.

In his address, Francis prayed for the people of Syria, Lebanon and the Holy Land; for the people of America who face political upheaval, those of Ukraine “who yearn for solutions for an enduring peace”; for missionaries who were persecuted and for the victims of terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

He ended his address with a call for compassion.

“May he soften our often stony and self-centred hearts, and make them channels of his love. May he bring his smile, through our poor faces, to all the children of the world: to those who are abandoned and those who suffer violence.”

“Through our frail hands, may he clothe those who have nothing to wear, give bread to the hungry and heal the sick. Through our friendship, such as it is, may he draw close to the elderly and the lonely, to migrants and the marginalized. On this joyful Christmas Day, may he bring his tenderness to all and brighten the darkness of this world.”

The Pope has marked his papacy with a concern for migrants and refugees, criticising the Trump administration’s plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico. In February 2016, when Trump was just a presidential candidate, Francis called his plan to build the wall un-Christian—prompting a sharp reply by Trump who accused Mexico of using the Pope as a pawn and called his remarks disgraceful.