VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II led Roman Catholics into Christmas on Thursday, calling on a world caught up in conflict to open itself to the peace of the infant Jesus.

12/25/2003 at 3:49 PM Posted by Catholic Citizens of Illinois

VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II led Roman Catholics into Christmas on Thursday, calling on a world caught up in conflict to open itself to the peace of the infant Jesus. “Too much blood is still being shed on Earth,” the 83-year-old pontiff said in the homily of a Christmas midnight mass in St. Peter’s Basilica that once again tested his strength.