Pope Benedict XVI prayed on Sunday that Middle East leaders work toward peace and reconciliation, stressing again the central theme of his visit to Lebanon, whose neighbour Syria is engulfed in a civil war.
“May God grant to your country, to Syria and to the Middle East the gift of peaceful hearts, the silencing of weapons and the cessation of all violence,” the pope said at the end of mass on the final day of his trip to Lebanon.
He also appealed to the international community and to Arab countries, in particular, that “as brothers, they might propose workable solutions respecting the dignity, the rights and the religion of every human person.”
In his weekly Angelus, a prayer to the Virgin Mary, he said “You know all too well the tragedy of the conflicts and the violence which generates so much suffering. Sadly, the din of weapons continues to make itself heard, along with the cry of the widow and the orphan. Violence and hatred invade people’s lives, and the first victims are women and children. Why so much horror? Why so many dead?”
Earlier, the pope said that, “in a world where violence constantly leaves behind its grim trail of death and destruction, to serve justice and peace is urgently necessary.
“I pray in particular that the Lord will grant to this region of the Middle East servants of peace and reconciliation, so that all people can live in peace and with dignity,” he added.
An estimated 350,000 people had gathered under a bright warm sun to join the pontiff as he celebrated a solemn mass on his third and final day in Lebanon.
