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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55445783Published by: BBC NEWS on 25 Dec 2020
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Pandemic restrictions meant the Christmas Day message was not delivered to crowds in St Peter's Square Pope Francis has called on world leaders to ensure unfettered access to coronavirus vaccines for everyone. In a Christmas Day address delivered online for the first time, the pontiff warnedagainst putting up "walls" to treatments.
The pandemic meant this year the annual Urbi et Orbi message was not presented from the balcony at St Peter's Basilica to huge crowds, as is tradition.
Instead the Pope spoke from a lectern in a chamber inside the Vatican.
Pope Francis' warning comes amid concerns that wealthier countries are buying up disproportionate doses of vaccines to the detriment of poorer ones.
"May the Son of God renew in political and government leaders a spirit of international cooperation, starting with health care, so that all will be ensured access to vaccines and treatment," he said.
"In the face of a challenge that knows no borders, we cannot erect walls. All of us [...]
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Who is Pope Francis?Pope Francis (born 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. He is also the first Pope since Gregory XVI (1831-1846) to have been a priest of a religious order.
What is Coronavirus?Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that are typically mild, such as the common cold, though rarer forms such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 can be lethal. Symptoms vary in other species: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhea. There are yet to be vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.
Who are the BBC News?The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total.
What is Vaccine?A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and to further recognize and destroy any of the microorganisms associated with that agent that it may encounter in the future. The administration of vaccines is called vaccination. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases; widespread immunity due to vaccination is largely responsible for the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the restriction of diseases such as polio, measles, and tetanus from much of the world.
Who is the Pope?The pope, or supreme pontiff is the Bishop of Rome and therefore ex officio the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is said to have given the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. Since the 1860s, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state entirely enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Pope Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.
