Pope Benedict XVI delivers Christmas Day blessing

Dec 25, 2005, 13:18 GMT

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged modern man not to forget his spiritual side and called for peace in Africa, the Middle East and Iraq as he delivered his traditional Christmas Day message to Catholics around the world.

Addressing the faithful gathered in Rome's rain-drenched St. Peter's Square from the basilica's main balcony, Benedict spoke of the need to open the 'minds and hearts to the birth of Christ' in a world in which materialism risks dominating.

'In the millennium just past, and especially in the last centuries, immense progress was made in the areas of technology and science. Today we can dispose of vast material resources.

'But the men and women in our technological age risk becoming victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements, ending up in spiritual barrenness and emptiness of heart.

'That is why it is so important for us to open our minds and hearts to the Birth of Christ, this event of salvation which can give new hope to the life of each human being,' the pope said.

Benedict also called for peace in the world's most tormented regions, including Africa's Darfur, Latin America and Asia.

'May (God) grant courage to people of goodwill in the Holy Land, in Iraq, in Lebanon, where signs of hope, which are not lacking, need to be confirmed by actions inspired by fairness and wisdom,' he continued.

'May he favour the process of dialogue on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere in the countries of Asia, so that, by the settlement of dangerous disputes, consistent and peaceful conclusions can be reached in a spirit of friendship, conclusions which their peoples expectantly await.'

German-born Joseph Ratzinger, who was celebrating his first Christmas as pope, then went on to impart his 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing ('to the city and to the world') in more than 30 languages, including Arabic and Swahili.

The list of languages was about half as long as the one used by Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, to greet the world on this occasion.

On Saturday, the 78-year-old pontiff celebrated his first Christmas Eve mass in a St. Peter's Basilica packed with thousands of pilgrims.

The ceremony capped a particularly intense year for Catholics, who saluted the departure of the immensely popular pope John Paul II after 26 years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church.

Benedict was elected pope on April 19, nearly three weeks after the death of John Paul.