Light from Bethlehem cannot be dimmed, Pope says as Vatican lights Christmas tree

December 14, 2012

The light that came into the world with the birth of Christ “shows no sign of dimming through the passing of the centuries and the millennia,” Pope Benedict XVI said as the Vatican prepared for the lighting of the giant Christmas tree placed in St. Peter’s Square on December 14.

During a reception with officials from Italy’s Molise region, which had donated this year’s Christmas tree, the Pope compared the lights on the tree with the light from Bethlehem, which pierces the world’s darkness.

The Pope observed that “attempts made through the ages to extinguish the light of God, to replace it with the glare of illusion and deceit, have heralded episodes of tragic violence against mankind.” Insisting that the birth of Christ must remain the focus of the Christmas celebration, the Pope said that “the attempt to cancel the name of God from the pages of history results in distortion, in which even the most beautiful and noble words lose their true meaning.”

 

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Further information:

• Christmas Tree: A Sign and Reminder of Divine Light (VIS)
• Christmas kicks off at Vatican with tree lighting; pope recalls when “light” of God smothered (AP)