Pope rails against "scourge of terrorism" in Christmas Day message

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2003

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Pope John Paul II railed against what he said was the "scourge of terrorism" and against all forms of violence in his Christmas Day message from St Peter's Square.

"Save us from the great evils which rend humanity in these first years of the third millennium," the pontiff prayed during the traditional "urbi et orbi" (the city and the world) greeting to Christians on the day they celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The frail pontiff, who is 83 and crippled by arthritis and Parkinson's disease, spoke haltingly but appeared in relatively good form on Thursday as he braved the cold of St Peter's Square, where his arrival was cheered by thousands of pilgrims, many of them children.

"Save us from the wars and armed conflicts which lay waste whole...