Aug 6, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Pope Benedict XVI renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and said that peace must be the work of everyone.
Benedict, who made his comments in the context of his weekly Angelus address, delivered from his summer residence at Castelgandofo, said that while, “we know well that peace is, before all else, a gift of God...in this moment we want also to remember that peace is a work for all men of good will.”
The Pontiff once again offered prayers to God and asked the intercession of the Virgin Mary in the ongoing conflict which has seen hundreds killed in Lebanon and Israel. “How much do we need, in this our time, to emerge from the darkness of evil, in order to experience the joy of the children of the light,” the Pope exclaimed.
Lamenting the continuation of hostilities and the ignoring of the, “voices that call for an immediate ceasefire,” the Pope called on all sides, “to offer their proactive contribution to the construction of a just and lasting peace.”
“I entrust this renewed appeal to the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin,” the Pope concluded.
On Saturday it was announced that the Holy Father granted an unprecidented hour-long interview with German news agencies, in preparation for his visit to Germany. In the process of the interview, which will be made public on the 13th of August, the Pope said that war does not bring good for anyone.
The Holy Father said that while the Holy See does not have political power, “we want to appeal to Christians and to all those who feel in some way touched by the words of the Holy See in order that all the forces which recognize that war is the worst solution for everybody are mobilized."
War, the Pope said, "doesn't bring any good for anybody, not even for the apparent victors. We know that well in Europe, following two World Wars."