VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis,
celebrating his first Christmas as Roman
Catholic leader, on Wednesday called on
atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for "a homemade peace"
that can spread across the world.
Speaking to about 70,000 people from the
central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the
same spot where he emerged to the world as pope when he was elected on March 13,
Francis also made another appeal for the
environment to be saved from "human greed and rapacity".
The leader of the 1.2 billion-member Church wove his first "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and world) message around the theme of peace.
"Peace is a daily commitment. It is a homemade peace," he said. He said that people of other religions were also praying for peace, and - departing from his prepared text - he urged atheists to join
forces with believers.
"I invite even non-believers to desire peace. (Join us) with your desire, a desire that widens the heart. Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace," he said, drawing sustained applause from the crowd.
Francis's reaching out to atheists and people of other religions is a marked contrast to the attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as second-class believers.