Pope issues New Year message of peace

Pope Benedict XVI made a New Year's Day wish today 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, 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.

The Vatican celebrates World Peace Day on January 1.

"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.

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

Noting that many ambassadors to the Holy See were attending the Mass, Benedict said: "The wish that I formulate before the representatives of nations present is that the international community unite their efforts so that in God's name, a world can be built in which the essential rights of man are respected by all."

The pontiff said injustice and violence threatened peace and that "the danger of terrorism" disturbs "the serenity of peoples".