Pope Francis has ushered in Christmas by saying God loves everyone "even the worst of all".
He was speaking to thousands of people during Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
The Argentine pontiff told the congregation that they might have mistaken ideas, they might have made a complete mess of things but the Lord continues to love them.
This will be interpreted by some as a reference to Church scandals, including sex abuse. Pope Francis will return to St Peter's Basilica today being Christmas day to deliver the traditional papal message to the world.
Last week, the Pope introduced sweeping changes to remove the rule of "pontifical secrecy" that has pervaded the issue of clerical child abuse.
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