ROME, NOV. 15, 2002 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II appealed to Christians to proclaim the God of love with consistency, in response to terrorism inspired by false religious values.
«The new century just begun brings with it a growing need for concord, solidarity, and peace between nations,» the Pope said during his address to the Italian Parliament on Thursday.
«This is an inescapable requirement of an increasingly interdependent world, held together by a global network of exchanges and communications,» he added, «in which, nonetheless, deplorable inequalities continue to exist.»
«Tragically, our hopes for peace are brutally contradicted by the flaring-up of chronic conflicts, beginning with the one which has caused so much bloodshed in the Holy Land,» the Pope said.
«There is also international terrorism, which has taken on a new and fearful dimension, involving in a completely distorted way the great religions,» John Paul II continued.
In response, Christians «are challenged to show all their rich potential for peace, by directing and as it were ‘converting’ towards mutual understanding the cultures and civilizations which draw inspiration from them.»
The Holy Father stressed that «in this great enterprise, on whose outcome depends the future of the human race in coming decades, Christianity has its own particular genius and responsibility,» the Holy Father stressed, adding that by «proclaiming the God of love, it presents itself as the religion of mutual respect, forgiveness and reconciliation.»
The Pope concluded by asking Christians to prepare «to open up for humanity new pathways of peace, not by ignoring the danger of present threats, but also by not allowing themselves to be imprisoned by a ‘logic’ of conflict, incapable of offering real solutions.»
