Pope: ‘Great fondness’ for UK visit
Pope Benedict XVI gives his Christmas message on the Today programme:
“Recalling with great fondness my visit to the UK last September. I am glad to have the opportunity to greet you again, and indeed to greet listeners everywhere as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.
“I pray for your families, for your children, for those who are sick, and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time.
“God is always faithful to his promises, but often surprises us in the way He fulfils them.
“It was not a political liberation that he brought achieved through military means. Rather, Christ destroyed this forever, and restored life by means of his shameful death on the cross.”
