TO A WORLD MARKED BY TENSIONS, PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF PEACE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 8, 2003 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall, the Holy Father received 300 bishops, priests and friends of the Community of Sant'Egidio who are holding a meeting on the theme "The Gospel of Peace" to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of the community by Prof. Andrea Riccardi.

The Pope called their theme "all the more important and heartfelt given the moment we are going through, marked by tensions and winds of war. It becomes, thus, ever more urgent to announce the 'Gospel of Peace' to a mankind that is strongly tempted by hatred and violence."

He said that "efforts must be multiplied. We cannot stop in the face of terrorist attacks, nor the threats that arise on the horizon. We cannot resign ourselves, almost as if war were inevitable. To the cause of peace, dear friends, offer the contribution of your experience, an experience of true fraternity that leads to recognizing in each other a brother to love unconditionally."

Pope John Paul reiterated in part what he said in his Message for the World Day of Peace 2003: "Peace is not essentially about structures but about people. Certain structures and mechanisms of peace - juridical, political, economic - are of course necessary and do exist, but they have been derived from nothing other than the accumulated wisdom and experience of innumerable gestures of peace made by men and women throughout history who have kept hope and have not given in to discouragement. Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts."

"Continue," he stated, "to work so that prayers for peace are intensified everywhere and are accompanied by concrete action in favor of reconciliation and solidarity among men and peoples."

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