Pope urges people to overcome prejudices on Christmas Eve; security high in some nations

Sunday, December 24th 2006, 1:58 pm

By: News On 6

VATICAN CITY (AP) The leader of Roman Catholics urged people everywhere Sunday to welcome Christmas by overcoming prejudices, while Christians in some countries faced heightened security at their churches amid worries about the threat of terror attacks during the holidays.

Shoppers rushed to buy last-minute gifts and food for Christmas meals, but some in poor nations faced a bleak holiday.

Bloodshed didn't slow in the globe's combat zones, and war was on the minds of many. Queen Elizabeth II sent a special Christmas message to British troops overseas, telling them that ``your courage and loyalty are not lightly taken'' amid mounting losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI used his weekly Sunday blessing to appeal for people to recognize their common bonds.

``Jesus came for each one of us and made us brothers,'' he said from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square as pilgrims and tourists began gathering for the Christmas Eve midnight Mass to be celebrated by the pope.

Benedict said people should strive to ``overcome preconceived ideas and prejudices, tear down barriers and eliminate contrasts that divide _ or worse _ set individuals and peoples against each other, so as to build together a world of justice and peace.''

Those divisions were evident in spots, such as the predominantly Muslim countries of Pakistan and Indonesia, where minority Christians attended church under tight security.

There are 31 churches in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, and the surrounding district and ``we have given security cover to all of them,'' said Sikandar Hayat, a senior police officer.

Church officials said metal detectors were set up for most services and armed guards watched over worshippers, although there have been no serious Christmas Eve attacks since two assailants used a grenade to kill three girls at a tiny Protestant village church in 2002.

``I visited Liberty market last night to buy some gifts,'' said Masroor Raza, 19, a student at Forman Christian College in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. ``I completed my shopping at earliest and hurried away from the market. You know the security reasons; it's Christmas Eve.''

In Jakarta, Indonesian police checked worshippers and searched for bombs at churches amid warnings by Western nations that Islamic militants might be plotting Christmas attacks.

Indonesian officials played down the alerts, which have been common since Christmas Eve bombings across the country killed 19 people in 2000. Still, 18,000 officers were deployed at churches as a precaution, police spokesman Col. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said.

Most of the crowd gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square were local Palestinians. The only large foreign contingent was around 200 Filipinos who work in Israel and made the short trip into the West Bank to celebrate Christmas.

With worries heightened by the Islamic militant group Hamas controlling the Palestinian government, there were fewer Christmas decorations in Bethlehem than in the past, and for the first time no Christmas carols were piped over a loudspeaker system.

The day was more upbeat on Flower Street in Kabul, capital of the largely Muslim nation of Afghanistan, where vendors were selling Christmas trees already decorated with lights and tinsel to foreigners.

``After the Taliban, we started to make Christmas trees because lots of foreigners are around, and they are asking for them,'' said Eidy Mohammad, owner of the Morsal Flower Store. ``Business is growing _ we had only the wedding season before, but now we have Christmas as well.''

He said he had sold about a dozen Christmas trees, earning anywhere from $20 to $200 _ a hefty sum for Afghans, many of whom make only about $50 a month.

Money was short in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe, where the worst economic crisis since independence has led to shortages of goods and brings routine failures in water and electricity service. Many shops and factories have been able to pay traditional holiday bonuses to their employees.

In Harare, the capital, thousands crowded into chaotic lines waiting for buses to rural towns, where urban Zimbabweans traditionally spend Christmas with their families.

Fewer buses were running this year and conductors deepened the misery by insisting on bribes to let passengers onto their overcrowded vehicles.

``This is horrible. I don't have any more money,'' said John Midzi, a casual laborer who had slept the night at the bus park but had to abandon his journey to Mutoko, some 90 miles northeast of Harare.