Saturday, December 24, 2016

Pope's Xmas Message Observes Children's Plight; "Suffer the Squalid Mangers That Devour Dignity"

Pope Francis tonight (December 24, 2016) urged Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus by thinking about the plight of today's children, bemoaning how some must escape bombs or flee in migrant boats, and how others are prevented from even being born at all, the Yahoo News website reports.

Francis celebrated a somber Christmas Eve Mass in a packed St. Peter's Basilica, processing to the altar behind cardinals draped in golden vestments as the Sistine Chapel sang "Gloria" and the church bells rang out across Rome.

In his homily, Francis urged his flock to reflect on how children today aren't always allowed to lie peacefully in a cot, loved by their parents as Jesus was, but rather "suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity."

"Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons," he added.

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