POPE John Paul II, currently on holidays in the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy, yesterday called for prayers "for peace in Northern Ireland" during his Angelus address in the alpine village of Lorenzago Di Cadore.
Breaking with a tradition which normally sees him eschew all references to international politics during his regular two week summer break in the Dolomites, the Pope said: "Today, I would like to invite you all to pray in particular for peace in Northern Ireland and for the respect of the rights of every person and every social group."
That one sentence regarding Northern Ireland was the only "political" reference made by the Pope, whose Angelus address concentrated on a condemnation of the worldwide environmental damage inflicted by ever more materialist modern man.
Throughout his pontificate, the Pope has regularly issued condemnations of the "men of violence" in Northern Ireland, calling for prayers for peace. A recent significant reference by the Pope to Northern Ireland came last September during a televised vigil of prayer for pence in the former Yugoslavia.