Dear young people, you have many plans and dreams for the future. But, is Christ at the center of each of your plans and dreams?

There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them of the dignity of work.

Who are we, as we stand before the child Jesus? Who are we, standing as we stand before today's children? Are we like Mary and Joseph, who welcomed Jesus and cared for him with the love of a father and a mother? Or are we like Herod, who wanted to eliminate him? Are we like the shepherds, who went in haste to kneel before him in worship and offer him their humble gifts? Or are we indifferent?

To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.

Jesus kept his wounds so that we would experience his mercy. This is our strength and our hope.

If I'm not mistaken, Sigmund Freud said that in every idealisation there's an aggression. Depicting the Pope as a sort of Superman, a star, is offensive to me. The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps calmly and has friends like everyone else. A normal person.

I pray every day for all who are suffering in Iraq. Please join me.