VATICAN CITY, JUL 26, 2006 (VIS) - The Pope yesterday called for prayers for the international conference for Lebanon being held in Rome today, in the hope, he said, that it "may bear fruit and bring concrete results for peace, ... for a solution that goes to the roots of the problem."
Yesterday evening, returning from an excursion in the Valle d'Aosta region of Italy where he is spending a brief holiday, the Holy Father expressed the hope that "stable and lasting solutions" be found, and he added: "I feel that something is now moving, I see that prayers are not in vain."
Benedict XVI made his remarks following a visit to the Marian shrine of Notre-Dame de la Guerison, located at the foot of Mont Blanc at an altitude of 1,460 meters, where he called on the faithful to pray for peace. Faced with the worsening situation in the Middle East, the Holy Father had proclaimed Sunday, July 23, as a special day of prayer and penance. On that day, visiting the church of Rhemes Saint Georges, a few kilometers from his holiday villa at Les Combes, the Pope had prayed to the Lord: "Grant us peace; not tomorrow or the day after, grant us peace today!"
Also yesterday, it was made public that the Holy See has been officially invited to participate as an observer at the Rome international conference for Lebanon. The Holy See delegation will be led by Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary for Relations with States, who will be accompanied by counsellors Msgr. Franco Coppola and Msgr. Alberto Ortega Martin.
.../ROME CONFERENCE/LEBANON:LAJOLO VIS 20060726 (280)
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