IRAQ:POPE BENEDICT XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq yesterday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul.
The pope also denounced the five-year-long Iraq war, saying it had provoked the complete break-up of Iraqi civilian life.
"Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence.
"Enough with the hatred in Iraq," he said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square, Rome, yesterday.
On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near Mosul. He had been abducted on February 29th.
The pope has called the archbishop's death an "inhuman act of violence" that offended human dignity. Yesterday, he also praised the archbishop for his loyalty to Christ and for his refusal to abandon his flock despite many threats and difficulties.
The pope recalled Archbishop Rahho's death as the Catholic Church opens Holy Week, the most solemn week in the liturgical calendar in which the faithful recall the suffering and death of Jesus.
The pope said the archbishop's dedication to the church and his death compelled him to "raise a strong and sorrowful cry" to denounce the violence in Iraq spawned by the war that began five years ago this week.
"At the same time, I make an appeal to the Iraqi people, who for the past five years have borne the consequences of a war that provoked the break-up of their civil and social life," he said.
He urged them to raise their heads and reconstruct their life through "reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and co-existence among tribal, ethnic and religious groups".
The Vatican strongly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq. In its aftermath, the pope has frequently criticised attacks against Iraqi Christians by Islamic extremists.
Last year, Pope Benedict urged US president George Bush to keep the safety of Iraqi Christians in mind.
Pope Benedict is due to preside over a memorial service at the Vatican today in honour of the archbishop.
Typically, the pope only presides over such services when a cardinal dies.
- (AP)