The New York Times reports: Pope Francis used the first Christmas address of his papacy on Wednesday to make a broad call for global peace and an end to violence in Syria and parts of Africa, urging atheists and followers of other religions to join together in this common cause.

On a windy Christmas Day, Francis spoke from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as a throng estimated at 70,000 people listened below. The traditional address, known as “Urbi et Orbi,” Latin for “to the city and the world,” offered the pope an opportunity to give Christmas greetings to the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and draw attention to issues that concern him — in this case, the universal desire for peace.

“True peace is not a balance of opposing forces,” Francis said. “It is not a lovely façade which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment.”

In the nine months since he became pope, Francis has generated global excitement among Roman Catholics, and others, with his humble demeanor and his shift in tone from the more strident papacy of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, whose resignation last February stunned the Catholic world.

Francis has regularly attracted huge crowds in Vatican City, and almost overnight he has emerged as a major figure on the global stage, surprising many Catholics with his nonjudgmental tone on issues like homosexuality and divorce, and his focus on the plight of the world’s poor. He has also been unpredictable, telephoning ordinary people who have written him letters, embracing a badly disfigured man at St. Peter’s, and making unannounced visits in Rome.

He proved unpredictable again on Wednesday, when he went off script to include atheists in his call for peace, rare for a Catholic leader.

“I invite even nonbelievers to desire peace,” he said. “Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace.” [Continue reading…]