Pope Francis Calls Iraqi Refugees on Christmas Eve
Before celebrating Christmas Eve Mass Wednesday in St, Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis made a phone call to some Iraqi refugees who have been forced to flee their homes by the Islamic State militants.
The Pope called the refugees at a camp in Ankawa through a satellite phone and broadcast live on Italian TV. He said: "Dear brothers, I am close to you, very close to you in my heart," adding that he was thinking particularly of children and the elderly. "Innocent children, children who have died, exploited children... I am thinking, too, about grandparents, about the older people who have lived their lives, and who must now bear this cross," BBC reports.
The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff further said: "You are like Jesus on Christmas night. There was no room for him either, and he had to flee to Egypt later to save himself," the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Later, Pope Francis led a Christmas Eve Mass in which thousands of people participated in St. Peter's Basilica. This is the second Christmas Mass that the Pope is conducting as he was elected last year as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.
In his sermon, the Pope said that during Christmas one must remember that God's message of peace "is stronger than darkness and corruption."
"The question put to us simply by the infant's presence is, 'Do I allow God to love me?'" he said. "Do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us ...? How much the world needs tenderness today!" he said.
