Urbi et Orbi translates into "to the City (of Rome) and to the World." Best of all, there is a plenary indulgence attached to the message and blessing.
The Urbi et Orbi message for today comes from 2006.
Pope Benedict XVI picks up on his comments on technology from his last Christmas message. He asks a poignant question: "Does a 'Saviour' still have any value and meaning for the men and women of the third millennium?" (emphasis in the original)
His Holiness points to many of our technological triumphs and conquests, such as "a humanity which has reached the moon and Mars and is prepared to conquer the universe" and a humanity "which has succeeded even in deciphering the marvellous codes of the human genome." Do we still need a Saviour, when we have accomplished so much, overcome so much, and triumphed over nature and the stars themselves? "This humanity of the twenty-first century appears as a sure and self-sufficient master of its own destiny, the avid proponent of uncontested triumphs.
Benedict brings all of this crashing down, by pointing out the futility of these innovations, inventions, and conquests. We have become so advanced, and yet "people continue to die of hunger and thirst, disease and poverty, in this age of plenty and of unbridled consumerism. Some people remain enslaved, exploited and stripped of their dignity; others are victims of racial and religious hatred, hampered by intolerance and discrimination, and by political interference and physical or moral coercion with regard to the free profession of their faith. Others see their own bodies and those of their dear ones... maimed by weaponry, by terrorism and by all sorts of violence."
We say we have progressed so much, and yet in reality we are no closer to solving these inhumane problems. Pope Benedict asks "Who can defend him, if not the One who loves him to the point of sacrificing on the Cross his only-begotten Son as the Saviour of the world?"
The answer, of course, is our Saviour who is born on Christmas day! But someone must bring this Good News to others, to those people that Benedict mentioned earlier as not being helped by our technological and scientific progress: "Who will make this message of hope resound, in a credible way, in every corner of the earth? Who will work to ensure the recognition, protection and promotion of the integral good of the human person as the condition for peace, respecting each man and every woman and their proper dignity? Who will help us to realize that with good will, reasonableness and moderation it is possible to avoid aggravating conflicts and instead to find fair solutions?"
The answer, of course, is us! We can save others where technology and human innovation fail. "Despite humanity’s many advances, man has always been the same: a freedom poised between good and evil, between life and death." It is our duty not to sit on our hands, but to go out and proclaim the Birth and Truth of Christ.
Pope Benedict XVI repeats a quote from the Roman Missal throughout his message: Salvator noster, Our Saviour. How beautiful! A prayer and a call, from the mouths, hearts, and minds of all peoples everywhere, asking for a True Saviour who will save us from what really plagues us.
"Do not be afraid, open your hearts to him and receive him, so that his Kingdom of love and peace may become the common legacy of each man and woman. Happy Christmas!"
Day I (2005), Day II (2006), Day III (2007), Day IV (2008), Day V (2009), Day VI (2010), Day VII (2011)
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