By Gudrun Schultz
VATICAN CITY, January 4, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI spoke about Christmas and the “shadows” of today that seek to obscure the light in ways perhaps “more subtle and dangerous” than in the past, addressing a crowd of 8,000 in the first general audience of 2007.
”[T[he joy of Christmas should not make us forget the mystery of evil, the power of the shadows that seek to obscure the splendour of divine light,” the Holy Father said, nor the “tragedy of rejection of Christ that expresses itself today in many different ways as it did in the past.
“Perhaps more subtle and dangerous are those forms of rejection of God in the modern era”, ranging from “clear rejection to indifference to scientific atheism,” along with “the presentation of a modernized, or better still, post-modernized Jesus; Jesus as a man reduced to being a mere ‘teacher of wisdom’ and deprived of his divinity, or else a Jesus who has been so idealized that at times he seems like a fairytale character.”
Christmas brings clearly before the world the reality that “now we know the face of God”
and “the amazing announcement that God loves us”, Pope Benedict said. “It was not we who loved God; it was he who loved us first”. The Child who is born “asks that we make space for him in our hearts and society.
“One cannot remain indifferent before Jesus,” he said, “we too must take a stand all the time. What will our answer be?”
In his New Year’s address on Jan.1, Pope Benedict said peace among nations and between all people must be founded on respect for the value of the human person. Such respect is the “supporting column of the entire, great edifice of peace.”
“Today, I renew my wish for peace to those governing and leading the nations and international organizations and to all men and women of good will. I do this particularly with the special Message that I have prepared, together with my collaborators of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and whose theme this year is: “The human person, heart of peace.”
“Today, much is spoken of human rights, but it is often forgotten that they need a stable, not relative, not optional, foundation. And this can be none other than the dignity of the human person. Respect for this dignity begins with the recognition and protection of the person’s right to life and to freely profess his or her own religion.”
Read full text from Jan.3 address (Italian):
https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070103_it.html
Read full text from Jan.1 address (English):
https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/angelus/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20070101_world-day-peace_en.html