VATICAN CITY, OCT 13, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father's Message to Bishop Sergio Goretti of Assisi and to the participants in the October 12 Peace March from Perugia to Assisi was published today. Tens of thousands of people marched for seven hours yesterday from Perugia to the birthplace of St. Francis where, the Pope recalled, he had convened the first prayer meeting of leaders of world religions in 1986.
"We must recognize," he writes in the Message, "that in recent years we have not invested much to defend peace, rather preferring at times to commit enormous resources to acquiring arms. It is as if peace has been 'wasted'. Many hopes have been dashed. Daily news reminds us that wars continue to poison the lives of people, above all in the poorest countries. And how can we not think of the persistent violence which causes blood to be shed in the Middle East, for example and, in particular, the Holy Land? How can we remain indifferent before a panorama of conflicts that continues to widen and to involve more regions of the earth?
"What can we do?" the Holy Father asks. "Despite the difficulties we must not lose faith. It is our duty to continue to work for peace and to be artisans of peace. Peace is a good for everyone. And each person is called to be a builder of peace in truth and love."
The Pope notes the theme chosen for the Peace March: "Let us build together a Europe for peace." He remarked that, "as a young man I was able to see firsthand the drama of a Europe without peace. That made me work even more tirelessly so that Europe would rediscover solidarity in peace and become ... an artisan of peace, within and outside its confines." He closed by saying that Europe "must dedicate generously, in favor of all of mankind, its rich cultural patrimony that matured in the light of the Gospel of Christ."
MESS;PEACE MARCH;...;GORETTI;VIS;20031013;Word: 330;
No comments:
Post a Comment