Pope calls for peaceful conflict resolution in the Middle East
-17/04/06
In his first l
Pope calls for peaceful conflict resolution in the Middle East
-17/04/06
In his first live Easter Sunday message to the world from St Peterís Square yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI has called for a negotiated settlement to the nuclear dispute with Iran and for new efforts towards peace in divided Iraq.
He also urged the international community to help Palestinians move towards statehood, while simultaneously affirming Israel’s “just right to exist in peace” as part of a bipartisan solution to their conflict.
After celebrating the Easter Mass, and before imparting the blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and to the world), the Pope read a message for “this modern age marked by anxiety and uncertainty.”
The pontiffís sermon was broadcast live on television to more than 50 countries, while over 100,000 people gathered in the square to hear it in person.
He made an Easter plea for peace in the name of the resurrection of Jesus, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
On Iraq, the Pope called for peace to “finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims”.
He also prayed that those “caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles”.
Declared the head of the worldís 1.5 billion Catholics: ì[Jesusí] Gospel totally quenches the thirst for peace and happiness that is found in every human heart. Christ is now alive and he walks with us. What an immense mystery of love!î
Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, willed that leaders and international organisations would strengthen their will to “achieve peaceful co-existence among different races, cultures and religions”.
Regarding the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, the Pope prayed for the spirit of Christ to bring relief to people who were “living in a dramatic humanitarian situation that is no longer sustainable”.
Social and spiritual change was also needed for millions of people in South America, he said.
“May the Spirit of the Risen One enkindle a renewed enthusiastic commitment of the countries of Latin America, so that the living conditions of millions of citizens may be improved, the deplorable scourge of kidnapping may be eradicated and democratic institutions may be consolidated in a spirit of harmony and effective solidarity”, declared the pope.
This year Easter coincides with Benedict XVI’s 79th birthday.
Pope calls for peaceful conflict resolution in the Middle East
-17/04/06
In his first live Easter Sunday message to the world from St Peterís Square yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI has called for a negotiated settlement to the nuclear dispute with Iran and for new efforts towards peace in divided Iraq.
He also urged the international community to help Palestinians move towards statehood, while simultaneously affirming Israel’s “just right to exist in peace” as part of a bipartisan solution to their conflict.
After celebrating the Easter Mass, and before imparting the blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and to the world), the Pope read a message for “this modern age marked by anxiety and uncertainty.”
The pontiffís sermon was broadcast live on television to more than 50 countries, while over 100,000 people gathered in the square to hear it in person.
He made an Easter plea for peace in the name of the resurrection of Jesus, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
On Iraq, the Pope called for peace to “finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims”.
He also prayed that those “caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles”.
Declared the head of the worldís 1.5 billion Catholics: ì[Jesusí] Gospel totally quenches the thirst for peace and happiness that is found in every human heart. Christ is now alive and he walks with us. What an immense mystery of love!î
Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, willed that leaders and international organisations would strengthen their will to “achieve peaceful co-existence among different races, cultures and religions”.
Regarding the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, the Pope prayed for the spirit of Christ to bring relief to people who were “living in a dramatic humanitarian situation that is no longer sustainable”.
Social and spiritual change was also needed for millions of people in South America, he said.
“May the Spirit of the Risen One enkindle a renewed enthusiastic commitment of the countries of Latin America, so that the living conditions of millions of citizens may be improved, the deplorable scourge of kidnapping may be eradicated and democratic institutions may be consolidated in a spirit of harmony and effective solidarity”, declared the pope.
This year Easter coincides with Benedict XVI’s 79th birthday.