Pope Francis has used his New Year homily to lament societies becoming “cold and calculating” and bereft of compassion.
He told the faithful during a mass in St Peter’s Basilica that those with “narcissist hearts” suffer the loss of the “ties that bind us” and the sense of belonging in society.
Francis said more humility and tenderness are needed in the world, saying those qualities are signs of strength, not weakness.
The Pope expressed concern for what he called “spiritual orphanhood”.
After the solemn ceremony at the flower-bedecked altar, Francis was set to address the tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists and locals who were gathering in St Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis decried the New Year’s attack in Istanbul that was carried out on what he called a “night of good-wishes and hope”.
He told pilgrims and tourists in St Peter’s Square that he was close in prayer to the many dead and to their families, to the wounded and to the entire Turkish people.
A gunman fired on New Year revellers in an Istanbul night club early on Sunday, killing 39 and wounding about 70 people, before fleeing.
Francis lamented the fact that so many people in the world were left grieving because of terrorism.
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