Pope Benedict today led a day of prayer for peace in the Middle East in the village of Les Combes, Italy, where he is on vacation. He called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of access for humanitarian aid agencies.
Pope Benedict made a point of affirming “the right of the Lebanese to the sovereign integrity of their nation, the right of Israelis to live in peace in their state, and the right of Palestinians to have a free and sovereign country.”
The Pope offered a special word of sympathy for “the unarmed civilian populations, unjustly struck by this conflict in which they are merely victims.” In this category he placed both the people of Galilee who were struck by Hezbollah rocket attacks and the great majority of civilians in Lebanon “who, once again, see their land destroyed.”
This is not moral equivalency. This is acknowledging the horrors of conflict and war and it is right for the pope to pray for those who are caught up in a war they want no part of, especially the civilians of Israel and Lebanon.
As former papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said today in an interview summarizing the Pope’s message, “Diplomacy is not enough. We must also touch everyone’s conscience.”
Technorati Tags:Catholic, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, pope benedict xvi, Vatican, war
bk_keywords: pope peace prayer.
Fenian, the Holy Father was praying for the people of Lebanon to have a right to sovereignty. No where does this imply that they had it two months ago or even three weeks ago before this began.