Pope Appeals for End to Violence

ROME — Pope John Paul II, issuing greetings in dozens of languages, including Mongolian, used his annual Christmas Day message Saturday to make an impassioned plea for peace in a world devastated by war and strife.

In a chilly, rainy St. Peter’s Square, the pope delivered his traditional Urbi et Orbi -- Latin for “to the city and to the world” -- to an enthusiastic crowd of umbrella-toting pilgrims and tourists who chanted his name and waved flags from an array of countries.

“Let there be an end to the spread of violence in its many forms, the source of untold suffering,” the pope said, wearing a golden miter and shielded from the rain by a canopy.

“Let there be an end to the numerous situations of unrest which risk degenerating into open conflict; let there arise a firm will to seek peaceful solutions, respectful of the legitimate aspirations of individuals and peoples.”

He singled out Africa, noting the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, and the Middle East, the land, as he said, of Jesus’ birth.

The pope also said he was following events in Iraq “with great apprehension.” John Paul has opposed the U.S. war in Iraq and has frequently spoken out on behalf of Iraqi civilians.

It was the shortest Urbi et Orbi message in John Paul’s 27 years as pope, kept brief so as not to tax his frail health. Despite faltering moments, he delivered it with vigor, frequently looking up from his text to survey and acknowledge the crowd.

The pope suffers from Parkinson’s disease, arthritis and other ailments that have put him in a wheelchair and slurred his speech. He made a rare public recognition of his declining health last week in a holiday speech to his staff, which he had to have an aide complete.

“The passing years make one feel an ever more intense need for help from God, and from people,” he said.

This understandably is one of the busiest seasons for the pope. In addition to the Christmas Eve midnight Mass and Saturday’s Christmas Day message, he will say a year-end Mass on Friday and celebrate the church’s World Day of Peace on Saturday.

The title Urbi et Orbi reflects the pope’s global scope.

“The pope is the bishop of Rome and he’s also the universal pastor of the church,” Archbishop John Foley of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told the Roman Catholic news agency Zenit. “So several times a year, specifically at Christmas and Easter, he gives a special blessing to the people of his diocese, urbi, and to the people of the world, orbi, his flock everywhere.”

The pope followed the message with Christmas greetings in 62 languages, including Hebrew. The Vatican said Saturday’s message was broadcast to 72 countries.

“Babe of Bethlehem, prophet of peace,” he said, speaking a short distance from a life-size Nativity scene that decorated St. Peter’s Square along with a 100-year-old Christmas tree, “encourage attempts to promote dialogue and reconciliation, sustain the efforts to build peace, which hesitantly, yet not without hope, are being made to bring about a more tranquil present and future for so many of our brothers and sisters in the world.”