Pope: If we want peace, defend life!
Continuing his Apostolic Voyage to Lebanon, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday travelled
to the Presidential Palace in Baabda for a courtesy visit to the President of the
Republic, Michel Sleiman. After private meetings with the President and other political
leaders, Pope Benedict addressed a public gathering of civil and religious leaders
of Lebanon. In his address, the Holy Father said God had chosen these lands “to be an example, to bear witness before the world that every man and woman has the possibility of concretely realizing his or her longing for peace and reconciliation.”
But, he said, peace depends upon a profound respect for the dignity of life: “The effectiveness of our commitment to peace depends on our understanding of human life.
“If we want peace, let us defend life!”
The Pope explained, “The unconditional acknowledgment of the dignity of every human being, of each one of us, and of the sacredness of human life, is linked to our responsibility which we all have before God.”
In the task of building peace, Pope Benedict said, “Lebanon is called, now more than ever, to be an example.”
He invited those present, “to testify with courage, in season and out of season, wherever you find yourselves, that God wants peace, that God entrusts peace to us.”
Listen to Christopher Wells' report:
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