Castel Gandolfo (AsiaNews) – Benedict XVI has made another appeal "in the name of God" for an end to hostility and for peace in the Middle East. Once again the war found its way into the words of the Pope before the Angelus – the first, this year, from Castel Gandolfo – when he affirmed the value of the approach indicated by the Church and recalled John XVIII: "in the face of wars and conflicts of all kinds, the path of truth, justice and freedom is indicated (cfr Pacem in Terris)."

Benedict XVI appealed "to all those responsible for this spiral of violence to immediately – the pope underlined this word forcefully – lay down their arms, on all sides". It is an appeal that poses a concrete demand to rulers and international institutions "not to spare any efforts to attain this necessary cessation of hostilities so as to be able to build, through dialogue, a lasting and stable coexistence of all the peoples of the Middle East". He also appealed to "men of goodwill" to seek to "intensify the delivery of humanitarian aid to those peoples who are so sorely tried and in so much need. But above all, let confident prayers to God, who is good and merciful, continue to come forth from every heart so that he may concede his peace to that region and to the whole world."

Greeted in a festive atmosphere by thousands of people who packed into the internal courtyard of the apostolic palace, the pope himself replied to the cries of the crowd by saying that the welcome he received "could not have been warmer". Then he turned to praying for the tormented region.

"At this time, I cannot but think about the situation, ever more grave and tragic, that the Middle East is experiencing: hundreds of dead, so many injured, a massive number of homeless and displaced people, destroyed infrastructures and cities, while hate and a desire for revenge appears to be growing in the hearts of many. These facts clearly show that when there is recourse to the instrument of violence, justice cannot be established, a new order cannot be created and authentic peace cannot be built. More than ever, we see how prophetic, and at the same time realistic, is the voice of the Church when, faced with war and conflicts of all kinds, it indicates the path of truth, justice, love and freedom (cfr Enc. Pacem en Terris). This is the path that mankind must travel today also to achieve the desired good of true peace."

Once again he said: "In the name of God, I appeal to all those responsible for this spiral of violence to immediately lay down their weapons on all sides! I ask rulers and institutional institutions not to spare any effort to attain this necessary cessation of hostilities so as to be able to build, through dialogue, a lasting and stable coexistence of all the peoples of the Middle East. I ask men of goodwill to intensify the delivery of humanitarian aid to those peoples who are so sorely tried and in so much need. But above all, let the confident prayer to God, who is good and merciful, continue to come forth from every heart so that he may concede his peace to that region and to the whole world." He added: "I entrust this heartfelt appeal to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace and Queen of Peace, so venerated in mid-eastern countries, where soon we hope to see reigning that reconciliation for which the Lord Jesus offered his precious Blood."