Vatican City: Pope Francis on Wednesday called for humanitarian aid access in Syria and "social harmony" in South Sudan on his first Christmas in the Vatican after months of shaking up the papacy with his humble style and common touch.
Francis also pleaded for divine aid to rescue child soldiers "robbed of their childhood" and for peace in the conflict-torn Central African Republic which he said was "often forgotten and overlooked".
In a wide-ranging address known as the "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and to the World) blessing that touched on many conflicts, the Argentine pope invited non-believers to join in a "desire" for peace in the world.
"Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance," the 77-year-old pope told a crowd of tens of thousands of faithful in St Peter's Square.
"Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid," he said.
The conflict in Syria is estimated to have killed more than 126,000 people since it first started out as peaceful anti-regime protests in 2011 and the violence there has unsettled the Middle East as a whole.
A grim reminder of the tensions ravaging the region came on Wednesday when a car bomb outside a Baghdad church after a Christmas service left at least 14 people dead -- the latest in a string of daily attacks. "Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq," the pope said in his prayer.
In his weekly address, US President Barack Obama stressed this year marks the first time in years that many US troops and recent veterans have spent Christmas at home with their families.
"For many of our troops and newest veterans, this might be the first time in years that they've been with their families on Christmas," he said. "In fact, with the Iraq war over and the transition in Afghanistan, fewer of our men and women in uniform are deployed in harm's way than at any time in the last decade."
The pope also highlighted the fighting raging between army and rebel forces in South Sudan, where thousands are believed to have been killed over the past week as the UN moves to boost its peacekeeping force to stave off a full civil war.
The first Latin American pope asked for "social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state".
The Argentinian also said Central Africa was being "torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty", called for immigrants to be given "acceptance and assistance", urged an end to the scourge of human trafficking and prayed for typhoon victims in the Philippines.
The November typhoon left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing in the Philippines but survivors defiantly celebrated Christmas in their ruined communities, roasting hogs and filling churches to overflowing.
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Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The new Argentinian Pope shyly waved to the crowd in St Peter’s Square and marvelled that the cardinals had to look to “the end of the earth” to find a new pontiff.
Pope Francis speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pope Francis I asked for prayers for himself, and for retired Pope Benedict XVI, whose resignation paved the way for his election.In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis waves the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. He had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict — who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years.Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, celebrating a Mass in Buenos Aires. He reportedly gained the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running before selection of Vatican insider Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI.Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, right, giving a mass outside San Cayetano church in Buenos Aires. Unlike many of the other papal contenders, Bergoglio never held a top post inside the Vatican administration, or curia. Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio gives a Mass outside the San Cayetano church where an Argentine flag hangs behind in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This outsider status could pose obstacles in attempts to reform the Vatican, which has been hit with embarrassing disclosures from leaked documents alleging financial cover-ups and internal feuds.Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The conclave appeared more swayed by Bergoglio's reputation for compassion on issues such as poverty and the effects of globalization, and his fealty to traditional church teachings such as opposition to birth control.Pope Francis puts on his sash from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. His overriding image, though, is built around his leaning toward austerity. The motto chosen for his archdiocese is "Miserando Atque Eligendo,'' or "Lowly but Chosen.''Pope Francis speaks to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Even after he became Argentina's top church official in 2001, he never lived in the ornate church mansion where Pope John Paul II stayed when visiting the country, preferring a simple bed in a downtown building, warmed by a small stove on frigid weekends when the building turned off the heat.Pope Francis blesses the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. For years, he took public transportation around the city, and cooked his own meals. Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio holds up a small flag of the San Lorenzo soccer team in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio, a San Lorenzo soccer fan, was chosen as Pope on March 13, 2013, the first pope ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio during a Mass to elect the new pope inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Bergoglio, who took the name of Pope Francis, was elected. Bergoglio's legacy as cardinal includes his efforts to repair the reputation of a church that lost many followers by failing to openly challenge Argentina's dictatorship.Argentina's cardinal Jorge Bergoglio addresses the crowd on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica. He also worked to recover the church's traditional political influence in society, but his outspoken criticism of President Cristina Fernandez couldn't stop her from imposing socially liberal measures that are anathema to the church, from gay marriage and adoption to free contraceptives for all.In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, center in white, talks to the crowd, flanked by cardinals including Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, right, Giovanni Battista Re, second from right, and Agostino Vallini, second from left, from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.Pope Francis and cardinals pray from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. His church also had no say when the Argentine Supreme Court expanded access to legal abortions in rape cases, and when Bergoglio argued that gay adoptions discriminate against children. In this undated picture released by journalist Sergio Rubin, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires kisses the hand of late Pope John Paul II during a ceremony at the Vatican. Fernandez compared Bergoglio's tone to "medieval times and the Inquisition.'' Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, left, shakes hands with Buenos Aires' Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio in Lujan, Argentina. Yet Bergoglio has been tough on hard-line conservative views among his own clerics, including those who refused to baptize the children of unmarried women.Pope Benedict XVI shakes hands with archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio during their meeting at the Vatican. Bergoglio himself felt most comfortable taking a very low profile, and his personal style has been the antithesis of Vatican splendor.Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio leading a mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His preference to remain in the wings, however, has been challenged by rights activists seeking answers about church actions during the dictatorship after the 1976 coup, often known as Argentina's "Dirty War.''Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio leading a mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Many Argentines remain angry over the church's acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate "subversive elements'' in society. Courtesy of Sergio Rubin, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio talks with a man as he rides the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A Catholic nun sings as people gather outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but less than 10 percent regularly attend Mass.People react after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected. Latin Americans were reacting with joy to news of the first Pope from the hemisphere, bursting into tears and cheers. “It’s incredible!” said Martha Ruiz, 60, who was weeping tears of emotion after learning that the cardinal she knew as Jorge Mario Bergoglio will now be Pope Francis I. A man attends Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles. U.S. President Barack Obama said the election of Francis "speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world." A nun looks at a giant TV screen, not pictured, showing the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. Thousands of people sheltering from heavy rain under a sea of umbrellas had occupied the square all day to await the decision and the crowd swelled as soon as the white smoke emerged.
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