Pope prays for lasting peace in Holy Land

POPE BENEDICT XVI made a New Year’s Day wish that people would work courageously for world peace, and especially for a lasting end to the Holy Land’s conflict, which he said has dragged on for too long.

The Pope, in his homily in St Peter’s Basilica during Mass yesterday, described peace as a “gift to invoke with prayer, a task to carry out with courage, without ever tiring”.

“How can one not turn one’s glance yet again to the dramatic situation which characterises the very land where Jesus was born?” the Pontiff said.

“How can one not implore with insistent prayer, that also in that region the day of peace arrives as soon as possible, the day in which the conflict which has been going on for too much time is definitely resolved?” Benedict asked in his homily, timed to coincide with World Peace Day.

“A peace accord, to be lasting, must be based on respect for the dignity and rights of every person,” he added.

The Pontiff said injustice and violence threatened peace and that “the danger of terrorism” disturbs “the serenity of peoples”.

Echoing the Pope’s sentiments, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pointed to the North and said he hoped the peace process was nearing its conclusion.

“Our experience has shown that a just and lasting peace is built over time, sometimes slowly, but always with patience and determination.

“I hope this work is nearing completion and that we will then see the real benefits that devolved government can bring to all in the community.”

Mr Ahern referred to Darfur in Sudan, saying violence in the region had triggered an evil and grave crisis of human rights violations.

At Mass at St Francis’s Church in Cork, the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, used World Peace Day to call for greater respect for human dignity.

“In our society today this lack of respect for the dignity of every human person is the cause of much of the violence that permeates our society,” he said.