Haaretz
Tamuz 6, 5766
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for
peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians and an end to spiraling
violence in Iraq.
Speaking to thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's
Square, Benedict for the second time this week warned a spiral of
"atrocious carnage" in the Holy Land and Iraq risked being aggravated if
all sides failed to negotiate.
"In the face, on one side, of blind
violence and atrocious carnage, and on the other, of the threat of
aggravating the crisis in the last dramatic few days, there is a need for
justice and a serious and credible peace plan: that unfortunately there is
no sign of," Benedict said.
Israel Air Force helicopters stepped up
a military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Sunday after the kidnapping of
an IDF soldier in a cross-border raid a week ago.
In Iraq, a car
bomb on Saturday killed more than 60 people, while Osama bin Laden
appeared to warn the country's majority Shi'ites they were not safe from
attack by Sunni militants.
"All must remember that every man, from
whatever population, is a brother," Benedict said.
Escalating
violence in the Middle East and the rise of terrorism has seen the Vatican
seeking allies, in particular the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been
split from the Catholic Church after a nearly 1,000-year-old
schism.
Benedict, on Sunday, welcomed the meeting of Russian
Orthodox and Catholic delegations in Moscow this month.
"This
important meeting reveals the shared wish to promote the dialogue among
civilizations and the search for a more just and peaceful world order,"
Benedict said.