«A perverse mentality of war, terrorism, abuse [and] blood imposes a menacing shadow of sadness on the dawn of the new year,» began the editorial, which was signed by Mario Agnes, director of the Vatican’s semiofficial newspaper.
People are growing «accustomed to the idea of an inevitable war, to the inevitability of this or that guerrilla action,» the article said. «And it seems that the desert of death has become a normal news item that day after day is transforming the Land in which the Child, Prince of Peace, was born.»
It seems that there is no longer any reaction to «the murderous arrogance of those who think it is their right to play with the fate of peoples, violating their dignity and sacrosanct rights,» the paper continued.
«And yet, from the heart of humanity a painful and vigorous invocation of peace arises,» it added. «It is the invocation of the humble that the pride of the so-called powerful tries to suffocate.»
«It is a firm conviction that there is no alternative to peace. A conviction based on faith and hope, especially during this Year of the Rosary called by John Paul II ‘to invoke from God the gift of peace,'» the editorial concluded.
