“This Christmas, too ... a world ravenous for money, power and pleasure does not make room for the little ones, for the so many unborn, poor and forgotten children,” the pope said, with a voice that sounded tired and almost hoarse.
But, he said, Christmas focuses attention on “the problem of our humanity – the indifference produced by the greedy rush to possess and consume”.
Francis, 86, has been using a wheelchair to navigate long distances due to a painful knee ligament, and a cane for shorter distances. Two years ago, the start of Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s Basilica was moved up to 7.30pm to allow faithful to get home before for a nighttime curfew imposed by the Italian government as a measure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Although virtually all pandemic-triggered restrictions have long been lifted in Italy, the Vatican kept to the early start time.
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