Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - A day of prayer and fasting was launched by Pope Francis for today, for peace in Syria , the Middle East and in the world and against any military intervention in Syria. The highlight of this day will be a prayer vigil with the participation of the Pope himself , in St. Peter's Square starting at 7pm (local time) .
At
last Sunday's Angelus, Francis had said that "a cry for peace ... rises
from every corner of the earth, from every nation, from every heart". His wish that "peace break out" in Syria and
around the world through this day of prayer and fasting, was welcomed by
Christians of other denominations, by Muslim communities and other religions
and even atheists.
The
vigil , with moments of prayer, song and silence , will last until at least
11pm. It
will begin with the enthronement of the icon of Mary, Salus Populi Romani and Queen
of Peace, because the following day is the Nativity of Our Lady, a very dear feast
day for Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims.
The
recitation of the Rosary will follow, the Joyful Mysteries, which the pope
wants preceded by short reflections from St. Therese of Lisieux.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope
will give an address, followed by Eucharistic adoration, interspersed with
prayers for the peace by popes down through the years, biblical and patristic
readings. Five
families from Syria, Egypt, the Holy Land, United States and Russia will be
present, for the offering of incense.
In
recent days, Pope Francis wrote
to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the G20 to avert a military attack
against Syria, which could lead to an explosion in the region, bringing further
suffering to the peoples of the Middle East. He
also strongly advocated that the international community wakes up from its "inertia
" and implement a peace conference for Syria. While
condemning the use of chemical weapons, he also demanded that the United "
abandon all vain pretense of a military solution ."
The
U.S. government is the most
determined on a military attack against Syria because it believes the government
guilty of using chemical weapons against the population. At
the G20 President Barack Obama sought to rally allies for an attack, even
without a UN resolution .
Until
now he has only the full support of the French president. But he gained the support
of up to 10 states for a generic "strong international response"
against the use of chemical weapons by Damascus. The
signatories are: Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Japan,
South Korea, Saudi Arabia , Turkey. Other
traditional U.S. allies such as Germany, Mexico and the European Union did not
sign.
For
its part, Russia, which casts doubt on responsibilities for the use of chemical
weapons in Syria, remains opposed to a military attack and has the backing of
China, India, Indonesia , Argentina, Brazil , South Africa and Italy .
Meanwhile,
ahead of a possible U.S. attack and possible counter attack, American , French
, Russian and Iranian warships are gathering.
Barack
Obama has called on the U.S. Congress - which resumes session September 9 - to
express themselves in favor of armed intervention. Both is staff and he personally, have pledged to lobby parliamentarians to push
for a vote. But
the U.S. Catholic Church and the majority of the population (at least 60%) are
opposed to any military action.