 Pope John Paul II said Sunday that Christmas' true meaning risked being lost by a "consumerist mentality" that is fueled by publicity.
To combat the trend, gift-givers should remember the poor and needy this holiday season, the pope said. The 82-year-old pontiff made the comments in his weekly appearance in St. Peter's Square, already decked with a towering Christmas tree and parts of the creche, the traditional scene depicting Christ's birth in a manger. "The simplicity of the creche contrasts with the image of Christmas that sometimes is shown by insistent publicity messages," the pope said. "Even the beautiful tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts among friends and family, under the impact of a certain consumerist mentality, risks losing its authentic sense of Christmas," he said. He said instead, the holiday season gave the faithful the opportunity to turn gestures of gift-giving into gestures of "solidarity and welcoming toward the poor and needy." (Agencies) | 約翰保羅教皇二世22日指出，圣誕節真正的意義正逐漸喪失，有可能被公眾中的一種日益膨脹的"消費主義心態"所取代。 他說，為了阻止這樣的趨勢，當人們在節日期間互贈禮物的時候應該意識到，此時此刻還有很多吃不飽穿不暖的窮人們。 這位82高齡的教皇是在出席每周一次的圣彼得廣場見面會時說這番話的。廣場已經裝飾了高大的圣誕樹，部分還布置成了傳說中耶酥基督在馬槽出生時眾人圍繞初生嬰兒的的情景。  教皇說："基督耶酥誕生時的簡陋場景和公眾所崇尚的圣誕氣氛形成了鮮明的對比。"
他還說："在某些消費主義心態的沖擊之下，即便是朋友和家人之間交換圣誕禮物這種美好的傳統，也會喪失其本來的意義。" 他還指出，忠實信徒們應該借助圣誕節這個機會，把表達情感的方式由單純的互贈禮物轉變成"聯合起來向生活困苦的人們表示關心"。 基督誕生塑像（描繪瑪利亞、約瑟等人圍繞著馬槽中初生基督的情景，常于圣誕節陳列） （中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2002-12-25 01:00
