Pope sees signs of hope in ME

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas attends a dinner at the church of the Nativity on Saturday in Bethlehem, ahead of Christmas mass at midnight. Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah (C) presided the mass and delivered his customary sermon calling for peace in the Holy Land.. PHOTO: AFP

Benedict also urged protection for those suffering "tragic humanitarian crises" in Darfur, Sudan, and other parts of Africa, and called for the settlement of "dangerous disputes" in Asia and continued dialogue on the Korean peninsula.

It was Benedict's first Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" message Latin for "to the city and to the world" and he continued the tradition of Pope John Paul II by using the speech to review conditions around the world and lament the violence and poverty that afflict so many.

The message was delivered from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the same velvet-draped balcony where Benedict uttered his first public words as pope. Hours earlier, he celebrated his first midnight Mass inside St. Peter's, in which he prayed for peace in the Holy Land.