Arafat Hasan of DOT : Pope Francis assailed the “insatiable greed” of modern consumerism at the Vatican as pilgrims crowded into the church at the traditional site of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem on Tuesday while Christmas celebrations began worldwide. Thousands attended mass on Monday night at the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis, head of 1.3 billion Catholics, offered his Christmas homily.
“An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” the 82-year-old pope said.
Pope Francis delivered his sixth “Urbi et Orbi” address on Christmas Day to pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square. Visitors from across the world gathered in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve ahead of midnight mass, queuing to see the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born and taking in a festive parade.
Later in the day, musical groups took the stage at Manger Square in front of the Christmas tree, illuminated as night fell, to sing Christmas carols.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was among dignitaries in attendance. Pizzaballa in his homily spoke of a “responsibility of caring for the city and the land where we live.”
“Not to own or occupy it, but to transform it from a simple urban area of private services and personal interests, to an area and place that provides the experience of communion, peace, relationship and sharing.”
-Source: Times Now