"Stop bloodshed of your fellow men!", says pope
Vatican City (AsiaNews) John Paul II asked the captors of the hostages in Iraq to show their "feelings for humanity" and to "give back the people in their hands to their families".
Following the Regina Caeli prayer, dedicated to Christ's mercy and forgiveness of his killers, the pope said he was "particularly near in thought and prayer to all those families who fear for the fate of their loved ones, especially those who have been taken hostage."
"I urge their captors to show their feelings for humanity. I beg this of them while praying to the God of Mercy for the people of the Holy Land and Iraq as well as for all those working for peace and reconciliation is this region," the pontiff said.
Three days ago the self-proclaimed "Mohammed's Brigade" killed an Italian hostage, Fabrizio Quattrocchi.
There are around 40 total hostages still held captive in Iraq.
Last night Israeli missiles killed Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Al-Rantis in Gaza. The Hamas organization is the main source of all suicide attacks perpetrated against civilians and soldiers in Israel. John Paul II said he has followed "with great sadness the tragic news reported from the Holy Land and Iraq."
"We must stop shedding the blood of our fellow men. Such inhuman actions go against God's will," he said.
Before the Regina Caeli prayer, which substitutes the Angelus during the Easter period, the pontiff delivered the following address (translation by AsiaNews):
"While up on the Cross, on Good Friday, Jesus left as His testament these words of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke, 23,34). Tortured and mocked, he called upon God's mercy for his killers. His open arms and pierced heart therefore have become the universal sacrament of God's fatherly tenderness, granting pardon and reconciliation to one and all.
The day of His resurrection, the Lord appeared and greeted the disciples, saying "Peace be with you!". He showed them his hands and sides still marked with the signs of his Passion.
Eight days later, as we read in today's gospel, He returned to meet them in the same room of the Last Supper, saying once again: "Peace be with you!" (cf. John 20, 19-26)
Peace is the gift par excellence of the resurrected and risen Christ. It is the fruit of his victorious Love over sin and death. By offering himself up, as the immaculate victim of atonement while on the Altar of the Cross, He spilled forth a charitable wave of Divine Mercy for all humanity.
Hence, Jesus is our Peace. He is the perfect manifestation of God's Mercy. He infuses God's merciful love in man's heart, a chasm always exposed the temptations of evil.
Today, Sunday in Albis, we celebrate God's Divine Mercy. The Lord invites us to give His peace to everyone, a peace based on the forgiveness of sin. This is an extraordinary gift, which Christ wanted to tie to the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.
Mankind is in such great need of experiencing the efficaciousness of God's mercy in this day and age marked by growing uncertainty and violent conflict!
Mary, Mother of Christ our Peace, who on Calvary received the testament of His Love, help us to be witnesses and apostles of His infinite mercy.
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