Vatican City, Nov 14, 2010 / 09:46 am
Benedict XVI noted several special causes for prayer after he recited the Angelus at noon on Nov. 14. He particularly expressed his “closeness” to the people of Haiti now suffering from a cholera epidemic and he prayed for peace in war-torn Iraq.
The Haitian epidemic comes in the aftermath of last January’s devastating earthquake.
"I encourage all of those who are doing their best for this new emergency and, while I assure my particular memory in prayer, I make an appeal to the international community so that it might generously aid those populations," the pontiff remarked.
He also remembered the people of Iraq during his greetings as he invoked "the gift of peace" for their nation. Iraqi Christians have suffered greatly in the past two weeks. An Al Qaida-linked group massacred churchgoers at Baghdad’s Syrian Catholic cathedral on Oct. 31 and Christian homes in the city were targeted for bombings just days later.