 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Pope urges Christians, Muslims to keep peace
©Washington Post, ASTANA, Kazakstan -- In a special prayer at the end of an open-air Mass, Pope John Paul II on Sunday urged Christians and Muslims to react to growing international tensions by working together for peace, saying, "religion must never be used as a reason for conflict." "We must not let what has happened lead to a deepening of divisions," the pope said in the capital of this former Soviet republic in Central Asia. "With all my heart I beg God to keep the world in peace." His words held special meaning for many of the 15,000 people who read from prayer booklets and waved yellow flags from behind blue iron barriers as the frail pontiff celebrated Mass before a simple wooden altar under sunny skies in the town's central square. The Mass was attended by a mix of Muslims, Russian Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and people of no particular faith. Worshipers waved Polish flags, cheered the pope in German, and held aloft banners with greetings from Ukraine, Russia and Uzbekistan.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
