‘Darkness’ is a real threat to mankind, Pope tells faithful

Carrying a tall lit candle at an Easter vigil service in a packed St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, he said: “Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies.

“The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil.

“The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general,” the Pope said.

“If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other lights, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk,” Benedict added.

The service began dramatically. Except for the twinkle of camera flashes, the basilica was almost pitch-black as the thousands of faithful in pews awaited the Pope’s arrival through the rear entrance.

After aides lit the candle, Benedict climbed aboard a raised platform that was wheeled up the long main aisle to the central altar.

The Pope, who has made protection of the environment a theme of his papacy, made a reference to urban pollution in his homily.

“Today, we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars in the sky are no longer visible,” he said. “Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment?

“With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify,” Benedict added.

Later, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, used his Easter homily at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Cathedral to call on Christians to make the cross “more prominent in their lives”.

He told the faithful to “wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ on their garments each and every day of their lives”.

But much to his amusement, one youngster, Thomas Andrew Marino, preferred to chew his cross after the service.

Meanwhile, in his Easter Sunday message, Pope Benedict urged the Syrian regime to heed international calls to end bloodshed and commit to dialogue.

After celebrating Mass in St Peter’s Square, the Pope expressed hope that Easter’s joy would comfort Christian communities suffering because of their faith, and he denounced terrorist attacks in Nigeria that have hit Christians and Muslims alike.

The Pope, who turns 85 this month, looked tired and was hoarse throughout the Mass, before a crowd of more than 100,000 faithful yesterday.

Syria was the first of several strife-torn countries to be mentioned in his traditional Urbi et Orbi – Latin for “to the city and to the world” – Easter speech.

He said: “Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community.”

His words came as the Syrian government appeared to be backing out of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the crisis, saying it would not withdraw its troops from cities without written guarantees from armed groups that they also would lay down their weapons.

Benedict said Syrians who had fled the conflict were enduring “dreadful sufferings” and he urged humanitarian assistance.

He said Christ represented “hope and comfort in a particular way for those Christian communities suffering most for their faith on account of discrimination and persecution”.

Sectarian violence in Iraq, often aimed at Christians, has prompted an exodus in recent years of many from the sizeable Christian community there. Benedict prayed for the Christian community in Africa, asking that Christians there be granted peace and religious freedom.

“To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens,” he said.

He also prayed that Mali, scene of a coup last week, would see “peace and stability”.

Benedict also encouraged Israelis and Palestinians to “courageously take up anew the peace process”. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, thousands of Christians gathered for celebrations, crowding into one of Christianity’s most sacred churches.

Catholics and Protestants took turns to hold ceremonies within the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where many believe Jesus was crucified and buried.