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.