VATICAN CITY (CNS): In response to the growing threat of global terrorism and other conflicts, Pope John Paul II has called for a Church-wide day of fasting in December and a prayer gathering of Christian and non-Christian leaders in January.
The December 14 day of fasting among Catholics also was to be marked by prayers for peace. The Pope suggested that in addition to limiting their food and drink on that day, Catholics find ways to transform their sacrifice into a contribution to the victims of terrorism and war.
He said he was convinced that today’s worried world “needs to see gestures of peace and hear words of hope”.
Addressing a crowd from his window above St Peter’s Square, the Pope spoke about the tensions and sufferings that have worried many people around the world.
He cited the thousands of innocent victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
In an apparent reference to the continued military campaign in Afghanistan, he said that “innumerable people have been forced to leave their homes to confront the unknown and sometimes to meet a cruel death”, while “women, elderly and children risk dying of cold and hunger”.
