VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis appealed for peace in many of the world's hotspots, singling out the crises in the Middle East, Venezuela and Lebanon as well as armed conflicts ravaging many African countries. "May Christ bring his light to the many children suffering from war and conflicts in the Middle East and in various countries of the world," the 83-year-old pontiff said in his traditional Christmas message at the Vatican. "May he bring comfort to the beloved Syrian people who still see no end to the hostilities that have rent their country over the last decade," he said, urging the international community to find solutions to allow the peoples of that region to live together in peace and security."

He used his "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) speech to call for a resolution to the crisis in Lebanon, where he hoped for a return to "harmonious coexistence". In the Middle East, notably Iraq and Yemen, the pope lamented that "so many people - struggling but not discouraged - still await a time of peace, security and prosperity."

The Argentinian pope, noting that in South America "a number of nations are experiencing a time of social and political upheaval," urged that "the beloved Venezuelan people… receive the aid they need." He said the continent's crises and "many forms of poverty… offend the dignity of each person."

The pontiff also noted that "beloved Ukraine… yearns for concrete solutions for an enduring peace." Finally Francis denounced attacks on Christians in Africa and prayed for victims of conflict, natural disasters and disease in the world's poorest continent.

The pontiff urged "comfort to those who are persecuted for their religious faith, especially missionaries and members of the faithful who have been kidnapped, and to the victims of attacks by extremist groups, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria."

'Injustice' spurs migration

The pope prayed for migrants undertaking a perilous and potentially deadly sea crossing to Europe to seek a better life, saying: "It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries." "It is injustice that forces them to ensure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement of every kind and torture in inhumane detention camps. It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference."

Pope Francis also focused on the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by insecurity for a quarter of a century due to the presence of dozens of local and foreign armed groups. "May (Jesus Christ) bring peace to those living in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, torn by continuing conflicts," the pontiff said. -AFP