Vatican City, Feb 23, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Meeting today with prelates from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the war-torn former Yugoslavia, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the need for them to “be peacemakers” and to be a bridge between the Church and the greater society.
"Following the sad years of the recent war,” the Pope told the prelates, “you as peacemakers are called to reinforce communion and to disseminate mercy, understanding and forgiveness in the name of Christ, both within the Christian communities and throughout the complex social fabric of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
He commended them, saying "I well know that yours is not an easy mission, but I also know that you maintain your gaze constantly fixed upon Christ, Who ... gave His disciples a fundamental task that sums up all the others, that of loving.”
“Love”, he stressed, “must not simply follow earthly laws ... but translate into that higher measure of justice which is mercy."