Pope Francis on Saturday called for dialogue to counter the isolation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, as billions around the world marked a second Christmas under the shadow of the virus.
An explosion in cases driven by the rise of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has meant another Christmas season tainted by the pandemic, with longed-for family reunions overshadowed by the prospect of yet more COVID-19 restrictions.
In his traditional Urbi et Orbi Christmas Day blessing, the pope told those gathered in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican that “our capacity for social relationships is sorely tried; there is a growing tendency