In Christmas Day Message, Pope Francis Shines Light On Migrant Suffering

NPR reports  that, in his annual Christmas Day address, Pope Francis offered a message of hope and a call for kindness to migrants around the world.

“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,” the pontiff said from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries,” he 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.”

The Christmas speech is titled “Urbi et Orbi”: to the city and the world.

He prayed that God would comfort those who are suffering, and he called on people to show good will and find solutions to ongoing humanitarian crises. Francis urged an end to conflicts in the Middle East, Latin America, Ukraine and Africa, and prayed for those who are persecuted on the basis of religion.

KJ