Pope John Paul II made yet another fervent appeal for peace in Iraq yesterday, arguing that the war undermined "mankind's hope for a better future", writes Paddy Agnew in Rome
Delivering his traditional Sunday Angelus address in St Peter's Square and quoting from the Gospel according to John, the Pope spoke of the love of God who "gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life".
The Pope added: "We listen to these comforting words at a time when painful, armed conflict undermines mankind's hope for a better future. We turn to Mary, Mother of God, praying to her for all the victims of the ongoing war. We call on her intercession, with mournful but faithful insistence, on behalf of peace in Iraq and in every other region of the world".
The Angelus address was the second time the Pope had made direct reference to the war in Iraq over the weekend.
On Saturday, addressing a delegation of Indonesian bishops, he argued war must never divide religions, saying: "War must never be permitted to divide the religions of the world."
Bearing in mind that Indonesia claims the largest Islamic population in the world (more than 200 million of the country's 232 million inhabitants are Muslims), the Pope also told the Indonesian bishops: "We must be careful to avoid the tendency of judging whole peoples on the basis of the actions of an extremist minority. True religion promotes neither violence nor terrorism but rather, in every possible way, tries to promote unity and peace amongst the entire human family".
The Pope's weekend comments were merely the latest in a sustained anti-war campaign during which he has consistently argued that "violence and arms can never solve the problems of mankind".
On the outbreak of war in Iraq, the Vatican issued a statement arguing that both the Iraqi and US governments bore responsibility for the conflagration - Iraq for its failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and the US government for having abandoned the path of diplomacy.