By DPA
Vatican City : Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday in his traditional Christmas Day greeting and message “to the city and the world” urged the faithful to accept God’s “great light” of peace.
Christmas is the “holy day on which the great light of Christ shines forth, bearing peace,” the pontiff said from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
“Men and women of this modern age, Christ comes also to us bringing his light, he comes also to us granting peace,” Benedict asked.
The pontiff mentioned a series of conflicts afflicting the modern world that he said were in urgent need of “God’s light”.
“May the Child Jesus bring relief to those who are suffering and may he bestow upon political leaders the wisdom and courage to seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions,” he said.
The pontiff then repeated in 63 languages his Christmas greeting to the tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square and those following the event on television and radio.
Some 95 television networks were expected to broadcast the pontiff’s greeting to 57 countries.
Hours earlier Benedict ushered in the Vatican’s Christmas celebrations by leading traditional midnight Christmas Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics said the earth was threatened “through the abuse of energy and its selfish and reckless exploitation.”