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POPE-AUDIENCE Dec-29-2004 (440 words) With photos. xxxi
As death toll soars, pope urges generous giving toward relief efforts
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the death toll from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis soared past 60,000, Pope John Paul II invited international agencies and individuals to give generously toward relief efforts.
Speaking at his weekly general audience at the Vatican Dec. 29, the pope said he was especially concerned at the risk of epidemics in the wake of the catastrophic flooding, which left beaches from India to Thailand littered with corpses.
He noted that Catholic agencies were mobilizing to respond to the humanitarian crisis, and he said he would continue to pray for the victims, the injured and the homeless in the region.
"The reports coming from Asia reveal more and more the enormity of this immense catastrophe, which struck especially hard in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand," the pope told a packed audience hall.
He praised the international community for rapidly mobilizing aid efforts and said the church's charitable agencies were doing the same. The previous day, the Vatican said at least $6 million in church aid had already been earmarked for the affected areas.
"In the Christmas spirit of these days, I invite all believers and people of good will to contribute generously to this great effort of solidarity toward populations that have been stricken and that are now exposed to the risk of epidemics," he said.
"I remain very close to them in affection and prayer, especially to those who have been injured or left homeless," he said.
Authorities said more than 3 million people had lost their homes, most of them poor families living in huts near coastal areas.
The World Health Organization warned Dec. 28 of potential epidemics of diarrhea, malaria and dengue throughout the disaster areas, largely because of lack of clean water and sanitation. One official said the diseases could eventually kill as many people as the waves that struck Dec. 26.
In his main audience talk, the pope asked Christians to reflect more deeply on the meaning of Christmas and welcome Jesus into their lives.
"Let us open our hearts to him so that he may come to us and stay with us every day of the new year," he said.
His audience talk was much shorter than in the past, and he pronounced the full text. Over the Christmas season, the Vatican dropped the practice of having aides read the bulk of papal texts; instead, the pope's talks were shortened considerably.
After the formal part of the audience, the pope, seated on a throne next to a Christmas tree, gave individual blessings to several hundred people, including many in wheelchairs.
END
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