12-24-2006, 05:20 PM
Here are some statements made by the Holy Father in an address to Makram Obeid, the new ambassador of Syria to the Holy See (from Zenit):
"You have spoken of your government's concern over the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel in 1967. With a heavy heart, I note that a wide range of territorial and other disputes have led to armed conflicts in recent times that threaten the peace and stability of the entire Middle East,"
"Repeatedly I have pleaded for a cessation of violence in Lebanon, in the Holy Land and in Iraq," the Pontiff said.
Benedict XVI said: "The world looks on with great sadness at the cycle of death and
destruction, as innocent people continue to suffer and targeted individuals are kidnapped and assassinated."
The Pope said that the Church "emphatically rejects war as a means of resolving international disputes, and has often pointed out that it only leads to new and still more complicated conflicts." The Pontiff added that the solution to the conflict lies within the framework of international law and "the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions."