Pope Benedict XVI holds the pastoral staff as he celebrates a mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to remain strong in the face of intolerance and violence in a New Year's appeal Saturday that came hours after a bomb blast outside an Egyptian church killed 21 people as worshippers left Mass. The pope condemned a widening campaign against Christians in the Middle East in his homily at St. Peter's Basilica, echoing comments last month in which he called a lack of religious freedom a threat to world security.