Third Age
December 24, 2010
http://www.thirdage.com/news/pope-delivers-christmas-wishes-english-speakers_12-24-2010
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| Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful during a consistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, |
Pope Benedict XVI delivered Christmas wishes on a BBC broadcast Friday in the first-ever appearance by a head of the Catholic Church on British radio.
The Bishop of Rome participated in the "Thought of the Day" segment of Radio 4's flagship news program, "Today," UPI reports.
Recalling his recent visit to Great Britain with "great fondness, Benedict said: "I am glad to have the opportunity to greet you again, and indeed to greet listeners everywhere as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. I pray for your families, for your children, for those who are sick, and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time."
According to UPI, Catherine Pepinster, editor of the British Catholic newspaper The Tablet, said: "This is an unprecedented thing for a pope to do, to do a script for radio, particularly in a country abroad in a language that is not his own. So in that sense it's unprecedented, and I'm very impressed that the BBC persisted so assiduously and got it."
Opponents found fault with the BBC for not using the opportunity to challenge the Catholic Church's sex abuse record, AP reports.
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