Pope Calls for Peace and Humanitarian Relief in Georgia

19-08-2008

Vatican City, Aug 17, 2008 (CNA).- In
remarks following his recitation of the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo on
Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI made a strong appeal for peace in Georgia,
asking that the truce declared in the region be allowed to strengthen
and transform into a stable peace. Offering his prayers for all victims
of the conflict, the Holy Father encouraged the delivery of relief aid
to affected populations and called for humanitarian corridors for
refugees.

"I am following
with attention and concern the situation in Georgia and I feel
particularly close to the victims of the conflict," he said. "While I
raise a special prayer for the dead, I express my sincere condolences
to all those who mourn, and I ask that the severe hardships of
refugees, especially those of women and children who might have
difficulty in obtaining necessities, be relieved with generosity," the
Holy Father said.

Pope
Benedict also called for the opening of humanitarian corridors between
the region of South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia in order that "the
still abandoned dead can receive dignified burial and the wounded can
be properly cared for and allowed to reunite with their loved ones."

In
addition, he asked for the guarantee of the security and fundamental
rights of ethnic minorities in the conflict, saying their rights can
never be violated.

Finally,
the Holy Father asked that the current truce, which he said was
achieved through the contributions of the European Union, "transform
into a consolidated and stable peace." He then invited the
international community to "continue offering their support to achieve
a lasting solution through dialogue and mutual goodwill."