Pope prays for victims of ‘Sendong’

VATICAN CITY—Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Day prayed for the victims of devastating floods in the Philippines and Thailand in his “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “To the City and to the World”) speech from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his traditional Christmas message, the Pope said the two Southeast Asian nations had endured “grave hardships.”

More than a thousand people were killed and countless others are missing from the flooding spawned by Tropical Storm “Sendong” in southern Philippines, while 600 people died in the July-November flooding in Thailand.

“Let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace,” he told thousands of jubilant tourists and pilgrims in the sun-drenched piazza below.

“May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood … May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed,” the Pope said.

“May he grant renewed vigor to all elements of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to advance the common good,” he added, following the revolts in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

Concluding his message, the Pope voiced Christmas greetings in 65 languages including Aramaic, Icelandic and Samoan to cheers from the crowd.

‘Superficial glitter’

In his Christmas Eve Mass, Benedict decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he urged the faithful to look beyond the holiday’s “superficial glitter” to discover its true meaning.

He presided over the service in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old Pontiff’s stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.

The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the Pope a late night that was to be followed by an important Christmas Day speech.

In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica’s central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk. He appeared tired by the end of the Mass and a dry cough interrupted his homily.

In his homily, Benedict lamented that Christmas had become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscured the simplicity of the message of Christ’s birth.

“Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light,” he said.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict had pointed to the need to rediscover faith to confront the problems facing the world today.

In his end-of-year meeting with Vatican officials on Thursday, Benedict said Europe’s financial crisis was largely “based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent.”

Benedict officially kicked off Christmas a few hours before the evening Mass, lighting a candle in his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square in a sign of peace, as crowds gathered to witness the unveiling of the Vatican’s larger-than-life-sized Nativity scene.

Security tight

Security was tight for the Midnight Mass, as it had been in recent years.

There were no repeats of the 2008 and 2009 Christmas Eve security breaches, in which a woman with a history of psychiatric problems and wearing a telltale red sweat shirt jumped the wooden security barrier along the basilica’s central aisle and lunged for the Pope.

Next weekend, the Pope will preside over a New Year’s Eve vespers service, followed by a New Year’s Day Mass.

A few days later he will celebrate Epiphany Mass followed by his traditional baptizing of babies in the Vatican’s frescoed Sistine Chapel. With a report from the New York Times News Service