Pope prays for 'victory of peace' in Middle East

Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the “victory of peace” in the Middle East, as his special envoy led the faithful in prayers in Lebanon, where a UN-brokered ceasefire appeared to be holding today.

The pontiff also lamented that humanity was anxious about a world torn by violence, and denounced the worsening of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and the daily bloodshed in Iraq.

Benedict addressed pilgrims in the courtyard of his summer residence in the hill town of Castel Gandolfo on a Catholic feast day honouring Mary.

In the early morning, the Pope celebrated Mass in a small church in the town south-east of Rome. During his off-the-cuff homily, the pope invoked Mary, asking her to “help the victory of peace today.”

Benedict also prayed “for the people of the Middle East, still torn by war, so that they fulfil the will of God who has plans of peace.”

He told the faithful that he had sent a special envoy, French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, to a Marian sanctuary in Harissa, Lebanon, to “bring comfort and concrete solidarity to all the victims of the conflict and to pray for the great intention of peace.”

“My thought goes also to the dear nation of Sri Lanka, threatened by the deterioration of the ethnic conflict,” Benedict said.

Clashes in parts of Sri Lanka over the last four weeks have undermined the country’s shaky ceasefire in the conflict pitting soldiers against Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Pope also denounced violence in Iraq, “where the frightening and daily bloodshed puts at a distance the prospect for reconciliation and reconstruction.”

During Mass at the Lebanese shrine, Etchegaray told the faithful that “no peace established by an agreement can hold if it is not accompanied also by peace in the heart,” Vatican Radio reported. The Pope’s special envoy said that only God could soften hearts hardened by violence.