On January 1, as he offered his new-year's greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, the Pope promised his "prayers for the victims of this catastrophe and their loved one." He had celebrated a Mass for their intentions the previous evening, in his private chapel. John Paul II voiced his "hope for better days" for the Asian communities hit by the tsunami, and his confidence that they would receive not only "the help of God" but also material assistance based on "the sense of human solidarity."

Appearing again on Sunday, January 2, for the Angelus audience at noon, the Pope remarked that "even in the most difficult and painful trials-- such as the calamity that struck southeast Asia recently-- God never abandons us."

Other Vatican officials issued their own messages of support for the Asian victims. Cardinal Renato Martino the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, observed that "no one can feel a stranger" to those who are suffering. Cardinal Martino told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera : "In the fact of tragedies of this magnitude, mankind realizes his vulnerablility." He remarked that the natural disaster underscored "the mystery of suffering," which all men must finally accept.

"Perhaps God wants to test our capacity for solidarity," the Italian prelate said. After seeing the suffering of others, he remarked, "the temptation toward selfishness might be easier to defeat." The lessons of the tragedy could also help to form the members of the younger generation, he said.

Cardinal Martino called for a "mobilization of international solidarity" to help the tsunami victims. Cardinal Bernard Law, the archpriest of the basilica of St. Mary Major, announced plans for a concert to benefit the tsunami victims. The concert, organized in conjunction with the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, will be held on January 5, and will feature the choir of the basilica and the Nova Amadeus Chamber Ensemble. Admission will be at no charge, with free-will offerings going through Cor Unum to stricken communities in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Somalia.