In his Christmas message, Pope John Paul II issued an appeal for people to remember those still yearning for freedom and the "new poor".

The frail-looking 77-year-old Polish Pontiff, celebrating his 20th Christmas as leader of the 960 million-member Roman Catholic Church, made his appeal in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing.

Speaking at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, he appeared tired and at times short of breath as he read his address and later as he wished the world a Happy Christmas in 56 languages.

In English he said: "May the joy of Christmas and the peace which the word of the saviour brings into the world be in your hearts forever."

He said that he would pay a day-trip to the Italy's central Umbria region on January 3 to visit people left homeless by a series of quakes that have rocked the area since September and to pray at the damaged Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.

The Pope - we must promote understanding between peoples of different cultures

For the second consecutive year, the Pope heeded his doctors' advice to reduce his busy workload and did not say mass in the Basilica on Christmas Day morning which he traditionally celebrated just before the address.

He celebrated a midnight mass that ended close to 2am (0100 GMT) and returned in public 10 hours later, wearing white, gold and blue vestments, to read his message to thousands of people in an overcast St Peter's Square.

Broadcast live to about 70 countries, the Pope said all people were called to share the joy of Christmas.

But he said men and women today should listen to the "the imploring cries of peoples who long for freedom and harmony, in situations of disturbing ethnic and political violence".

"Today there resound more strongly the voices of those who give themselves generously to breaking down barriers of fear and aggression, promoting understanding between peoples of different origins, colour and religious creeds," he said.

Unusually, the Pope did not mention countries or specific geographic areas in his address, but spoke generically of the plight of refugees, the homeless, immigrants and the unemployed.

"Today, the sufferings of peoples fleeing to the mountains of their own land or seeking a safe haven on the coasts of neighbouring countries in order to pursue the faint hope of a less precarious and more secure existence appear more tragic to us," he said.

This passage appeared to be applicable to Kurds in the Middle East, and Albanians and members of other nationalities who have immigrated illegally to Italy in hope of a better life.

The Pope also focused his attention on the plight of the poor who live in advanced nations.

"More distressing today is the tense silence of the ever growing multitude of the new poor: men and women without work and without shelter, infants and children injured and violated, adolescents enlisted in the wars of adults, young victims of drugs or attracted by deceptive myths," he said.

The theme was similar to that expressed by the Pope in his message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, in which he said the globalisation of the economy had left behind many orphans of the marketplace.

The Pope's health has been in the spotlight in recent years. After he underwent surgery to remove an inflamed appendix in October 1996, the latest in a series of operations, doctors advised him to slow down.

He has delegated some activities and liturgical ceremonies to senior aides but appears to have no intention of curtailing his travels abroad and in Italy.

He is due to make his first visit to communist Cuba on January 21. The trip will be his 81st foreign visit and he also plans to visit Nigeria, Austria and Mexico in 1998.

This Christmas was a particularly happy one for the Pontiff because Cuban President, Fidel Castro, reinstated Christmas Day as a holiday in honour of the Pope's upcoming visit.

It was scrapped 28 years ago in order to help Cubans achieve a record sugar harvest.
 

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