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Pope asks CBCP to pray
for peace in Holy Land
18 JULY 2006 – The Vatican has invited the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to offer special prayers for unity in the Holy Land.
In a letter received today, the Apostolic Nuncio, Fernando Filoni, requested the President of the CBCP, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, to convey the angelus message of the Holy Father "to all the Bishops of the Philippines as quickly as possible."
"In front of the aggravating situation in the Middle East, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has invited, during the last Sunday 'Angelus', the particular Churches to offer special prayers for peace in the Holy Land as well as the entire Middle East," the letter stated.
From a retreat house in Bacolod City, Archbishop Lagdameo immediately sent a circular letter to all the bishops in the country to convey the message of the Pope Benedict XVI.
What is happening in Holy Land the past few days, the Pope said, is a cause of new and serious concern to everyone, especially for the increasing military activities in Lebanon and for the many victims among the civilian population.
"At the root of such pitiless contrasts there are, unfortunately, objectives... violations of rights and of justice," he said.
Benedict XVI, however, said that neither terroristic acts nor reprisals, especially when they have such tragic consequences on the civilian population, can be justified. "Bitter experience shows that by following this path no positive results can be."
"Today," he added, "is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, a mountain in the Holy Land which, just a few kilometres from Lebanon, dominates the Israeli city of Haifa, also recently attacked."
"Let us pray to Mary Queen of Peace that she may implore from God the fundamental gift of harmony, bringing political leaders back to the way of reason and opening new possibilities of dialogue and understanding," the Pope also said.
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