Addressing thousands of people during Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, the Pope said, “God continues to love us all, even the worst of us.”

“You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you. How often do we think that God is good if we are good and punishes us if we are bad! Yet, that is not how he is,” said the Argentine pontiff, Catholics Pope on Christmas eve.

“God does not love you because you think and act the right way. He loves you, plain and simple. His love is unconditional; it does not depend on you,” he added.

The Catholic Church has faced a series of child sexual abuse accusations across the world in the past few decades.

Without directly mentioning the crisis, Francis said that “whatever goes wrong in our lives, whatever doesn’t work in the Church, whatever problems there are in the world, will no longer serve as an excuse.”

In a most recent case, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, Cardinal George Pell was convicted of abusing two choir boys in Melbourne in 1996.

Francis himself has previously faced accusations of not responding effectively to the Church’s sex-abuse crisis. Last year, he was accused of wrongdoing by rehabilitating a top official who had abused his authority.

In an attempt to confront the abuses, the Pope last Tuesday abolished the rule of “pontifical secrecy” in sex abuse investigations.

The rule allowed some Church officials to hide behind it instead of cooperating with authorities over child abuse accusations.

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According To Iran News, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri congratulated his Christian counterparts on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.

In separate messages to his Christian counterparts on Tuesday, Major General Baqeri congratulated them on the birthday anniversary of Jesus Christ, “the messenger of peace and friendship”, and on the beginning of the new year in the Gregorian calendar.

“Undoubtedly, the return of humanity to the blessed teachings of the great prophets of God and strengthening of the spirit of friendship, empathy, and interaction among nations would bring about the establishment of global peace and stability and humanity’s inclination to truth and justice,” the message read.

The top commander further wished his counterparts health and success and the people and armed forces of their countries prosperity.

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday by millions of people around the world.

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Leader of the Islamic Revolution representative to Syria Ayatollah Abolfazl Tabatabaei met and held talks with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X Yazigi.

The post Leader’s envoy, Syrian patriarch discuss regional, religious issues appeared first on Iran News Daily.