CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS): Pope Benedict XVI said he was deeply disappointed that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon had been ignored.
Peace is both a gift of God and the product of political commitment, and all people of good will have a duty to work for an end to hostilities, the Pope said at a Sunday blessing last week at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.
In a talk that marked the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Pope said Christ’s salvation was sorely needed in a world threatened by the “shadows of evil”, including fratricidal conflict in the Middle East.
Pope Benedict, who has urged an immediate end to the fighting since it began, explained the reasons for his appeals in an interview on August 5 with four German-language media.
The Pope said the Vatican was motivated in its actions not by political considerations but by the conviction that “war is the worst solution for everyone.
He said the Vatican’s actions and his own appeals were designed to mobilise all the potential forces of peace.
