Pope Condemns @Culture of Death@ in Christmas Message

In order to be closer to the faithful, the pontiff delivered his traditional Christmas message in this holy year from the altar in St. Peter's Square and not, as is the custom, from the basilica.

Pope John Paul II, who addressed more than 80,000 of the faithful, appeared tired at times, having celebrated Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in the open air in a rainstorm.

"You, Lord Jesus, born for us at Bethlehem, ask respect for every person, especially the small and the weak, you ask for an end to all forms of violence, to wars, oppression and all attacks on life," Pope John Paul II told the faithful.

"I am thinking with great concern of the Holy Land, where violence continues to stain with blood the difficult path to peace," the pope said.

Fighting between Israeli troops and the Palestinians began Sept. 29 and has so far killed more than 350 people, a vast majority of them Palestinians.

The 80-year-old pope also referred to the crisis in Indonesia, where a series of bombs went off near churches on Christmas Eve, killing at least 13 people.

"And what are we to say about countries – I am thinking particularly of Indonesia – where our brothers and sisters in faith, even on this Christmas Day, are undergoing a tragic time of trial and suffering," the pope said.

"We cannot but recall today that shadows of death threaten people's lives at every stage of life, and are especially menacing at its earliest beginning and at its natural end," he said. "The temptation is becoming ever stronger to take possession of death by anticipating its arrival, as though we were masters of our own lives or the lives of others. We are faced by alarming signs of the "culture of death," which pose a serious threat for the future."

But, he said, there are positive signs, too.

"Encouraging, too, are the efforts of all those, including men and women in public life, striving to foster respect for the human rights of every person, and the growth of solidarity between peoples of different cultures, so that the debt of the poorest countries will be condoned and honorable peace agreements reached between nations engaged in tragic conflicts," he said.