Pope asks for peaceful solution to avoid war
“Without giving in to the problems, one needs to search and follow every possible road to avoid war, which always brings with it grief and grave consequences for all,” he said during his regular Sunday address.
From his window, the 82-year-old pontiff told pilgrims sheltering under umbrellas in St Peter’s Square to join him in a day of prayer and fasting for peace this Ash Wednesday.
“Fasting helps us to better understand the difficulty and suffering of our fellow men oppressed by famine, poverty and war,” the pope said.
“We will ask for peace for the world, for Iraq and the Holy Land in particular,” he added, saying that peace was being put in doubt “by the growing threats of war”.
The United States is swelling its military presence in the Gulf region, prepared to attack Iraq in order to disarm it.
Washington accuses Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction. Despite suffering Parkinson’s disease and arthritis, the pope has thrown himself into the anti-war campaign.
On Saturday the Vatican said it was sending Cardinal Pio Laghi to Washington in the next few days to talk with US President George W Bush and deliver a personal peace letter.
