VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI delivered his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter address, described as the Pope's "gift to the world," from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Benedict read out a long list of troubling current events, including what he called "tragedies" in Afghanistan and Darfur, but saved his sharpest comments for the end.
"Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees," the Pope said. "And just yesterday, Xavier Nady, sharing the name of one of the great Saints of the Church, allowed a fly ball to deflect off his glove to give Adam Dunn a homerun, and the Reds a victory over the Pirates." The Pope removed his mitre with uncharacteristic anger and threw it to the ground before storming inside St. Peter's Basilica.
The address was in contrast to the Pope's appearance on the balcony last Easter when he scrapped his annual "Urbi et Orbi" gift to the world in favor of fruitcake. At that time, the Pope made his appearance on the balcony on schedule but stared at his prepared text in silence for several minutes, causing many in the crowd to assume he was ill. Suddenly he looked up and stared straight ahead and muttered in a soft but clearly audible voice, "Hopeless, absolutely hopeless." Then he turned to his right and spoke to someone out of view. "OK, Jerry, send in the fruitcakes. I'm done here." Then he brusquely waved to the crowd and disappeared. A short time later a caravan of trucks rolled into the Saint Peters Square and began distributing fruitcakes to the estimated 80,000 pilgrims.
