Roman Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar wished a Merry Christmas to all believers and exchanged greetings with Serbian Patriarch Irinej celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Archbishop stated that the holy day of Christ's birth makes us aware of the tragicomic aspect of our own lives: we all want to be free but we do not know what freedom is, we seek perfect happiness but our spiritual life is meager.

Hocevar said that without personal, conscious and free unity with Christ, it is not possible to be a true human.

Hocevar wished a Merry Christmas to all believers who celebrate this holiday by both the Gregorian and the Julian calendar.

The Archbishop read the message of Pope Benedikt XVI for the 44th World Day of Peace saying that the year behind us was marked by expulsion, discrimination, violence and religious intolerance in Iraq, Middle East and the Holy Land, as well as expulsion of Christians in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.