The Camarlengo of the Supreme Pontiff, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, said this week Pope Benedict XVI continues to urge a ceasefire based on mercy, in order to bring about definitive solutions that will lead to reconciliation.

“The Pope asks us insistently to pray to the Lord, that He might have mercy on humanity so that it might live in peace,” the cardinal told reporters.

“The message being conveyed by the Holy Father, which other pontiffs have proclaimed as well, continues to be the same and equally urgent: there is nothing to lose with peace and everything to lose with war,” the cardinal stated.

“We watch with sadness as the war widens and as the possibility of a peaceful solution becomes more complicated,” he added.

“We cannot call up an army of peace but we can call up a spiritual army to implore peace, so that the fact that one day of peace is better than years of war will penetrate peoples’ consciences,” he said in conclusion.