VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- Satan is still at work in
the world unleashing "evil energy" but God will be the final arbiter of history, Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the third general audience since his election
last month, the pope also said that nations and leaders had to look for God's hand in history in the past and learn from it.
"History, in fact, is not in the hands of dark forces, left
to chance or just human choices," he told thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
"Above the unleashing of evil energy, above the vehement
interruptions of Satan, above the so many scourges of evil, rises the Lord, supreme arbiter of history," the pope said in
an address reflecting on the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
He urged Catholics to look for and recognise what he called
"hidden divine interventions in history".
The 78-year-old German Pope, elected on April 19, again
mingled with people in the crowd at the end of the audience.
He stopped to talk to handicapped people and personally
greeted dozens of well-wishers.
Continuing in the tradition
of his predecessor, John Paul II, he delivered the address in Italian and read summaries or greetings in some 10 other languages.
