Pope asks visitors to pray for victims of natural disasters

Published: 2005-10-26

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christ's great love for humanity is a consolation in moments of difficulty, but it also lays a claim on Christians to love and serve others as he did, Pope Benedict XVI said. At end of his Oct. 26 general audience, the pope asked an estimated 50,000 visitors to join him in praying "for the many needs of the church and the world, in a special way for populations struck by the earthquake and by physical and environmental calamities." He said, "May our spiritual and material support never be lacking for those who find themselves in difficulty." Pope Benedict's main audience talk focused on the hymn to Christ found in St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. The pope said the canticle underlines the greatness of Christ's sacrifice and glory by contrasting his divinity with his willingness to become human and die on a cross.

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