Pope Francis at Christmas midnight Mass: God loves ‘even the worst of us’
Ns News Online Desk: Pope Francis ushered in Christmas with a midnight Mass in which he insisted God loves “even the worst of us” who may have “made a complete mess of things.” “You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you,” the pontiff told crowds gathered at the Vatican on Christmas Eve, according to AFP
“God continues to love us all, even the worst of us,” the Pope stressed in his message to the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.
He emphasized “unconditional” love in a year that has seen the Roman Catholic church further rocked by claims of sexual abuse by priests around the world and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy.
Francis, who was elected in 2013, also spoke Christmas Day in front of tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and Romans gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his annual message. There, he said that “the light of Christ is greater” than the darkness “in human hearts” and ‘’in economic, geopolitical and ecological conflicts.”
He referred to countries around the world suffering from ongoing conflict, including Syria where he said there is “no end to the hostilities that have rent their country over the last decade’.’ He also mentioned Israel, where Jesus “was born as the savior of mankind and where so many people — struggling but not discouraged — still await a time of peace, security and prosperity.”