“Insatiable greed” – Pope sets the agenda for Christmas Day address

In a Christmas Eve address that set the tone for Christmas, Pope Francis last night exhorted his flock to avoid the greed and materialism of Christmas and to focus on simplicity, charity and love.

The Pontiff celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, as is traditional, and this year lamented the poison of avarice greed that runs through human veins, “An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when paradoxically a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive.”

The Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope already has denounced a global financial system that makes the rich richer at the expense of the poor who lack the basics.

Thousands attended the Christmas Eve mass and more will hear the Pope’s sixth ‘Urbi et Orbi’ address, broadcast on the European Broadcasting Union and other link ups, at noon on Christmas Day in front of a crowd in Saint Peter’s Square.

Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World) denotes a papal address and apostolic blessing from the central loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica given by the pontiff on certain solemn occasions such as Easter and Christmas.