Vatican City, Dec 31, 2016 / 10:15 am
During a prayer service for the close of 2016, Pope Francis said the arrival of a new year should serve as an opportunity to toss out attitudes of selfishness and exclusion, focusing instead on how to imitate God's closeness to each person through his incarnation.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be naïve. We know that we are tempted in various ways to adopt the logic of privilege that separates, excludes and closes us off, while separating, excluding and closing off the dreams and lives of so many of our brothers and sisters," the Pope said Dec. 31.
In looking to the infant born in Bethlehem, "we should acknowledge that we need the Lord to enlighten us, because all too often we end up being narrow-minded or prisoners of all-or-nothing attitudes that would force others to conform to our own ideas," he said.
"We need this light, which helps us learn from our mistakes and failed attempts in order to improve and surpass ourselves," he said, adding that this light comes from the courageous and humble awareness of the people who repeatedly find the strength "to rise up and start anew."