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Pope Francis, celebrating his first Christmas as Roman Catholic leader, on Wednesday called on atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for "a homemade peace" that can spread across the world... He said that people of other religions were also praying for peace, and - departing from his prepared text - he urged atheists to join forces with believers. "I invite even non-believers to desire peace. (Join us) with your desire, a desire that widens the heart. Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace," he said, drawing sustained applause from...

Urbi et Orbi Messageof His Holiness Pope Francis(Christmas 2013) Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace among those whom he favours (Lk 2:14) Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Christmas! I take up the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It is a song which unites heaven and earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to earth and all its people. I ask everyone to share in this song: it is a song for every...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI urged loyal Catholics in China and Iraq to have courage in the face of persecution and limits on their religious freedom, as the largest number of pilgrims in a decade flocked to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/25/pope-urges-catholics-hope-comforting-message-christmas/#ixzz199S8Pgft

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world,From the depths of my heart, I wish all of you a blessed Easter.  To quote Saint Augustine, “Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra – the resurrection of the Lord is our hope” (Sermon 261:1).  With these words, the great Bishop explained to the faithful that Jesus rose again so that we, though destined to die, should not despair, worrying that with death life is completely finished; Christ is risen to give us hope (cf. ibid.).  Indeed, one of the questions that most preoccupies men and women is this: what is there after...

“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come you nations and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.” Dear Brothers and Sisters! “A holy day has dawned upon us.” A day of great hope: today the Saviour of mankind is born. The birth of a child normally brings a light of hope to those who are waiting anxiously. When Jesus was born in the stable at Bethlehem, a “great light” appeared on earth; a great hope entered the hearts of those who awaited him: in the words of today’s Christmas liturgy, “lux magna”. Admittedly it...

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday decried the "suffering in the world" in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) on Easter Sunday." "How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking," he said in the message beamed around the world. "I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life,...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's Christmas message delivered at midday before he imparted the blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world). * * * "I bring you good news of a great joy … for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Last night we heard once more the Angel's message to the shepherds, and we experienced anew the atmosphere of that holy night, Bethlehem Night, when the Son of God became man, was...

Pope Benedict XVI said in his Christmas Day message Sunday that signs of hope in Iraq, the Holy Land and Lebanon need to be reinforced by actions on the ground.Benedict also urged protection for those suffering "tragic humanitarian crises" in Darfur, Sudan, and other parts of Africa, and called for the settlement of "dangerous disputes" in Asia and continued dialogue on the Korean peninsula.It was Benedict's first Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" message — Latin for "to the city and to the world" — and he continued the tradition of Pope John Paul II by using the speech to review conditions...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Some 122 TV stations from 74 countries will broadcast Benedict XVI's first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope in St. Peter's Basilica. In addition, 111 television channels from 68 countries will broadcast his Christmas day message and blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world) which he will impart from St. Peter's Square, according to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Among these channels are Sri Lanka TV Corporation, Jordan Radio and Television, and the Israel Broadcasting Authority, as well as numerous national television networks of Africa.