Today at Les Combes, the Pope during the Angelus:

Benedict XVI told the crowd of around 10,000 people who went up to Les Combes to participate in the Sunday Angelus: “The news coming from the Holy Land in recent days gives cause for further, serious concern among all, especially because of the increased actions of war in Lebanon as well, and the many victims among the civilian population. At the core of this ruthless enmity, there are, alas, objective situations of violations of law and justice. But neither terrorist acts nor reprisals, especially when they have tragic consequences for the civilian population, can ever be justified. Taking such paths, as bitter experience has shown, does not lead to positive results.”

The pope, who talked about the Holy Land after the recital of the Angelus, then recalled, as he had already done before the Marian prayer, that “today is dedicated to Our Lady of Mt Carmel, the mount of the Holy Land which, a few km from Lebanon, dominates the Israeli city of Haifa, also recently hit. Let us pray to Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may beseech God to grant the fundamental gift of harmony, leading political leaders back to the path of reason and to opening new opportunities of dialogue and understanding. In this perspective, I invite all local Churches to offer special prayers for peace in the Holy Land and all the Middle East.”

On Friday, the Pope visited a Carmelite monastery.