In Urbi et Orbi, the Pope asks nations to share vaccines

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis, in his Christmas message on Friday, said that political and business leaders should not allow market forces and patent laws to take precedence over making COVID-19 vaccines available to all. , condemning nationalism and “the virus of radical individualism.”

In a sign of the times, Francis delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message (to the city and the world) virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican rather than from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before tens of thousands.

The pandemic and its social and economic effects dominated the message, in which Francis called for global unity and aid for nations suffering from conflicts and humanitarian crises.

“At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and serious economic and social imbalances that have only been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important that we recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters,” he said.

Emphasizing that health is an international issue, he appeared to criticize so-called “vaccine nationalism,” which UN officials fear will worsen the pandemic if poor nations receive the vaccine in the end.

“I ask everyone, heads of state, companies and international organizations to promote cooperation and not competition, to find a solution for everyone, vaccines for everyone, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all areas of the planet,” he said.

“The most vulnerable and needy must come first,” he said, in the Vatican’s Hall of Blessings, with only about 50 Vatican employees in masks sitting along the long walls.

Pope Francis delivers his traditional Urbi et Orbi Christmas Day address to the city and the world practically from inside the Hall of Blessings rather than from St. Peter’s Square to limit the number of people who gather due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican, December 25, 2020. Vatican Media / Handout via REUTERS

“Radical individualism”

“We cannot put ourselves before others, putting market forces and patent laws before the laws of love and the health of humanity,” he said. “We cannot allow closed nationalisms to prevent us from living as the true human family that we are.”

Francis also appeared to criticize people who have refused to wear masks because they violate their freedom, an attitude that has become widespread in nations like the United States.

“Nor can we allow the virus of radical individualism to triumph over us and make us indifferent to the suffering of other brothers and sisters,” he said.

Italians are under a nationwide lockdown for much of the Christmas and New Years holiday period. The restrictions mean that people cannot go to St. Peter’s Square or the basilica for papal events, all of which have been moved indoors.

Christmas is above all a time to help others because Jesus himself was born a poor outcast, Francis said Thursday night at his Christmas Eve Mass, which began two hours earlier so that the few participants could get home on time. before curfew at 10 pm.

“May the Child of Bethlehem help us, then, to be generous, supportive and helpful, especially with those who are vulnerable, the sick, the unemployed or who are experiencing difficulties due to the economic effects of the pandemic and women who have suffered domestic violence. . during these months of confinement, ”he said in his speech on Friday.

He then called for peace and reconciliation in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon and Iraq, which he will visit in early March.

He also asked to comfort those suffering from humanitarian crises or natural disasters in Burkina Fasso, Mali, Niger, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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