On Palm Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI Calls for Peace in Iraq
(16 Mar 08 -RV) Pope Benedict XVI called for Peace in Iraq during Palm Sunday Mass
in St. Peter's Square. Chris Altieri reports...
“Enough
with the massacres, enough with the violence, enough with hatred in Iraq!” This was
the cry issued by Benedict XVI at the end of the Passion Mass, on Palm Sunday, in
commenting on the death of the Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho.
The
archbishop had been kidnapped by fundamentalist groups in Iraq and found dead following
information given by the kidnappers a few days ago.
He had been very sick
and was in need of medicine.
The pope recalled Archbishop Rahho’s “beautiful
witness of faithfulness to Christ, to the Church, and to his people, whom he had not
wanted to abandon in spite of many threats".
The Holy Father also issued "an
appeal to the Iraqi people, who for five years have been bearing the consequences
of a war that has provoked the disintegration of its civil and social life: dear Iraqi
people, said Pope Benedict, “Hold your heads high! Let yourselves be the first re-builders
of your national life!
The Holy Father prayed that reconciliation, forgiveness,
justice, and respect for civil coexistence among tribes, ethnicities, and religious
groups be the harmonious path to peace in the name of God.
In his homily, following
the chanted gospel reading, which on Palm Sunday recounts the Lord’s passion and death,
Pope Benedict Benedict urged the faithful to follow God with the innocence and purity
of a child's heart.
To recognize God, said Pope Benedict, we must abandon the
pride that dazzles us, that seeks to push us away from God.
The pope went on
to say we must learn to see with a young heart, a heart that is not blocked by prejudice
and blinded by interests.
The diocese of Rome and Catholic diocese throughout
the world also hold celebrations to mark World Youth Day on Palm Sunday.
In
English remarks to the faithful at the end of Mass, Pope Benedict looked forward to
the high point of World Youth Day celebrations, which are scheduled to take place
in Sydney Australia in July of this year…
I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims
and visitors here this Palm Sunday, when we acclaim Jesus, model of humility, our
Messiah and King. In a special way I greet all the young people gathered in Rome.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you, together with thousands of others from
across the globe, at World Youth Day in Sydney. Today, I wish to recognize the preparatory
work being undertaken by the Australian Bishops’ Conference together with Cardinal
Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and the organizing staff. Similarly I wish to acknowledge
the spirit of generous cooperation shown by the Federal and the New South Wales governments,
as well as the residents and business people of Sydney.
Pope Benedict
asked the faithful to pray that World Youth Day will be a time of deep and lasting
spiritual renewal for young people, and called all the faithful to embrace the transforming
power of God’s love, expressed in Holy Week…
May the great events of Holy Week,
in which we see love unfold in its most radical form, inspire you all to be courageous
‘witnesses of charity’ to your friends, your communities and our world. Upon each
of you present and your families, I invoke God’s blessings of peace and wisdom.