Pope repeats call for peace in Middle East

(August 07,2006) : - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday , urged all men of goodwill to call for a ceasefire and for a solution of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The Pope made the call during his Angelus message at Castelgandolfo, some 30 kms south of Rome, where he is presently passing the hot summer months. He told a vast crowd of pilgrims and tourists in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, that Sunday’s Gospel on the Transfiguration, of the mystery of light that triumphs over the shadow of evil, must help to overcome conflict with peace. In recent weeks, the Pope has made repeated calls for prayers to the Blessed Virgin, to obtain peace for the peoples of the Middle East overwhelmed by fratricidal conflict. And on Sunday he said : - “We know well enough that peace is above all a gift of God, to be implored with insistence in prayer, but at the same time, we also need to recall that it is a commitment of all men of goodwill. Let none shrink from this duty. ” The Pope’s appeal to all men of goodwill was due to bitter consternation that so far - voices calling for an immediate ceasefire in this martyred region have been ignored. In fact, after more than three weeks of war, of Israeli air raids and Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli cities in the north, the UN has not yet found a formula to put a stop to the violence, especially that of targeting civilians. “I feel the urgency to renew my pressing appeal about this, asking everyone to make their active contribution to the construction of a just and lasting peace. I entrust this renewed appeal to the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin,” the Pope said.