VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope
Francis made an impassioned New Year's peace address on Wednesday,
saying the heart of humanity seemed to have gone astray and too many
people were still indifferent to war, violence and injustice.
The
pontiff, who took his papal name from St Francis of Assisi, the saint
most associated with peace, urged the world to listen to the "cry for
peace" from suffering peoples.
"What
on earth is happening in the hearts of men? What on earth is happening
in the heart of humanity?" he said to tens of thousands of people in St
Peter's Square on the day the Roman Catholic Church celebrates its World
Day of Peace.
"It's time to stop!" he said, departing from his prepared text.
Francis
was speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St.
Peter's Square that popes traditionally use for their addresses.
Unlike his predecessors,
Francis has not used the spacious apartment behind the window since his
election in March, shunning pomp and preferring instead to live in small
quarters in a Vatican guest house.
"Everyone
must be committed to building a society that is truly just and caring,"
he told the crowd on Wednesday, acknowledging the many peace banners
and blue balloons held aloft.
In
a message for the World Day of Peace sent to world leaders last month,
Francis said that huge salaries and bonuses were symptoms of an economy
based on greed and inequality
In
that letter, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina
again urged nations to narrow the gap between rich and poor, more and
more of whom were getting only "crumbs".
Francis,
named Person of the Year by Time magazine and a number of other
publications, has urged his own Church to set an example by being more
fair and frugal and less pompous, and to get closer to the poor and
afflicted.
The new year is
expected to bring concrete changes to the Vatican, plagued by a series
of mishaps and scandals under Pope Benedict XVI, who in February became
the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
Francis
has appointed a committee of eight cardinals from around the world to
advise him on how to reform the central Vatican administration.
He
has also named commissions to advise him on what to do with the
scandal-plagued Vatican bank, on transparency in other parts of Vatican
finance and on how to deal with the Church's many sexual abuse scandals.
Vatican
officials expect changes to start taking shape in late February, when
his council of advisors has a pivotal meeting in the Vatican.
On
February 22, Francis will name his first batch of cardinals to join the
exclusive group that will one day choose his successor.
The
names of the new cardinals are expected to be disclosed sometime in
late January, and will offer another indication of the type of humbler
Church that Francis wants.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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