Rome, Italy, Jan 5, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- This evening at six o’clock, as a tradition started by Pope Paul VI for the eve of the Solemnity of the Epiphany, Pope Benedict visited the garbage collectors of Rome at Porta Cavallegeri.

Pope Benedict warned “not being lured by false appeals of what is ephemeral and not lasting. The warning comes from the Pontiff as he visited the nativity scene of garbage collectors at  Porta Cavallegeri. “It is not worth it just to stop and wait that things happen,” he warned.
For Benedict XVI, “to visit the nativity scene specially this evening, the vigil of the solemnity of the Epiphany is like resuming the pilgrimage to Bethlehem, to the Holy place where the Redeemer was born, and to Jerusalem where the Magi from the East arrived  to meet Jesus, Mary and Joseph, where they stayed to contemplate this evangelical scene.”
“It becomes an opportunity to meditate on the central mystery of our own salvation,” the Pope concluded.

Pope Benedict continued by expressing his concern for the evolution of the situation in the Middle East, which incertainties are deepened due the illness of Prime Minister Sharon.

"In this hours let's pray for peace in the Holy Land, so that they may have a longlasting peace." the Pope said.

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